TMNT - To Death And Back
by DoodleDumble
Summary: When the turtle brothers start fighting, Mikey suddenly stumbles across trouble – Karai and the entire Foot clan are out to get them, and with his brothers unable – and somewhat unwilling – to help, Mikey must come up with a plan and face the entire Foot league all alone. (Super fluffy! :D Never any OC's or romance. Rated T for extensive injury.)
1. Hot Blood

A/N: Hey guys! You might recognize me from Deviantart. If you've already seen this fanfic there and you notice some differences between the two, that's because the way deviantart and ff let you format your stories are different, so I had to do some creative improv to maintain the effect I wanted. Either way, I've developed some neat techniques to indicate the delivery of the story, so if you want a quick break-down on the best way to follow along, please visit my profile.

Thanks for reading, and most importantly - enjoy!

* * *

"Donnie?"

It was another normal day for the turtles. The fearsome four had gone topside last night and had had a session of Foot-clan-butt-kicking, and all of them were relaxing back in the sewers. However, there was a tension in the air, Mikey had noticed. For some reason, the others just hadn't been getting along very well, lately. Maybe it was something in the pizza, but everyone had been getting on everyone else's nerves a lot, and their rusty teamwork during more recent battles had left a lot more injuries afterward than usual - more injuries and more tempers. Raph and Leo had been fighting more frequently and more heatedly, and Donnie was snappy and best left alone. With nothing else to do, Mikey had been quietly amusing himself with his video games for the past few weeks, trying to stay out of the way.

Now if he could just remember where he set down his Xbox controller...

After rolling his eyes, Donnie replied, "What is it?"

"Have you seen my controller anywhere?" Mikey asked, flipping the couch cushions. "I can't find it."

"How should I know where it is?" Donnie growled, turning back to his work. He was tinkering with mechanical scraps, working on his seemingly half-finished, newest invention. "I don't have time for those baby playsets of yours."

Sighing, Mikey checked under the couch, and not finding his controller, sat back down with a huff, watching the blank TV screen. He wished it would hurry up and be nighttime already...he was planning on getting some much-needed fresh air, as soon as it was dark enough.

"And what about YOU, oh fearless leader?"

Donnie and Mikey both turned their heads toward the sound, and Mikey felt something like a rock drop into his gut. Raph and Leo, going at it again...the two walked into the main part of the lair, having just come back from checking out a blown circuit breaker in another part of the sewers for Donnie.

"Would you just cut it out?" Leo replied, a raw and testy tone to his voice. "Stop being such a whiner."

"Yeah? So I 'spose that it's NOT your fault that the Foot ninja got away last night? The one that was right under your nose, if I recall?" Raph shot back.

"There was no need to stop him, for the billionth time."

"You kiddin' me? After the kind of gig he pulled?" Raph and Leo stopped walking, and turned to face each other. "He'd just broken into that computer shop, remember? That guy hacked into a major corporation and had a whole barrage of new techno-data to take back to the Shredder - they could make a whole new breed of pain-in-the-butt weapons for their little Kraang buddies with that." Raph threw his hands in the air for emphasis. "An' not to mention the buttload of cash he hauled off with all those trinkets he stole, too! After YOU got in my way!"

"There's no reason to worry about the DATA he stole," Leo argued. "There's little chance the guy got any information the Kraang don't probably already know about. And I had no CHOICE but to let him get away," he said. "Going after him at that point would have been more trouble than it was worth."

"Tch, right! Good to know you put so much effort into stoppin' the bad guys!" Raph scoffed.

"If you were so mortified, why didn't _YOU_ go after him!" Leo shouted, and the two snarled at each other.

"Would you two can it?" Donnie broke in, walking down to the pair. "Did you even find the circuit breaker?"

"Yeah, we found it," Raph said. "Right before _Leo_ busted it up."

"I did not!" Leo snapped. "It was shorted out from the sewer water, and the rats had been gnawing it and eating the acid that was leaking out. There were dead, toxic rats all over it, so -"

"SO," Raph continued, "Mr. Genius here decided to open it with his katana."

"It was already busted, like I said," Leo retaliated. "That's why it blew out when I opened it."

Donnie put his hand to the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. "You gotta be kidding me," he said, exasperated. "Great. That's just great. Now I gotta find parts to make another circuit breaker and hook it up somewhere out of reach of the sewer water, and figure out how to keep the rats off. It's already a job just trying to find any kind of hiding place for them. You know how long that's going to take?"

"Why don'tcha just go _buy_ another stupid gizmo-box?" Raph shot back.

"Don't be stupid! I can't risk going topside to buy one - and the kind I need is over four hundred dollars!"

"Well, _bright_ idea putting it out where the rats'cn chew it ta' pieces, huh!"

Mikey sighed, sitting backwards on the couch on his knees to watch the others, resting his head on his arm as they started to argue furiously. What was he supposed to do...? He wished it would hurry up and be nighttime so he could get out, but even taking a break from all this nonsense wouldn't make it go away. He didn't like his brothers to be angry...just a few weeks ago, he could remember them all smiling, laughing at each others' stories and joking around - happy. After a minute listening to the others arguing, he decided he should say something.

"Hey, guys?" He piped up. "There's no need to get all worked up. Donnie, I can help you find pieces for a new circuit breaker, if you want." He chuckled. "And those rats chew our stuff up all the time, right? One time, when I was little, I left my favorite toy car out -"

"Butt out, Mikey!" Raph interrupted, making Mikey cut off and go silent. "This isn't one of your toys we're talking about."

"Raph's right," Donnie agreed. "It'll take weeks just to find the right parts - maybe months. You don't even know what to look for." Putting his hands to his head, he went back to his workshop. "This is going to take forever. I need that circuit breaker to power some stuff in my workshop. _Geez!_"

Irritated, Raph and Leo both stalked away, Leo to the training area and Raph to his room. Mikey hesitated, blinked, and heaved a sigh, collapsing on the couch and flipping on his Gameboy in defeated silence.

* * *

Later, it was finally dark out, and Mikey rushed to his room and grabbed his nunchuks in preparation to leave. He whipped up his iPod and stuck it in his waist strap, too - if he didn't have his brothers with him, he especially loved taking his music along. Peeking into the main part of the lair, he saw the other three - Raph watching TV, Leo in the kitchen area poking at his dinner with a fork, and Donnie at his workshop, as usual. They probably wouldn't care even if they did see him, Mikey figured, slinking out the entrance to the lair.

Time to go topside.

.

.

.

Racing out the nearest manhole, Mikey leaped up the buildingsides and, landing on the rooftop, launched into a full-out sprint. He laughed in exhilaration, pulling out his iPod. Wind in his face, the city lights lighting up the sky, unleashing his energy into the cool breeze and his favorite song in his ears - Mikey remembered again why night runs were one of his favorite pastimes.

After a few hours, Mikey went to his favorite rooftop - his secret spot even his brothers didn't know about - and settled down on the hidden ledge. It was a very old, very tall brick building on the shadier side of town, and Mikey could see a long way from the top. There was a small indentation, a little compartment in the side of the building that had a door going inside, with a small platform and iron rail guarding off the steep, 300-foot fall. It was kind of like a super-tiny, concrete porch. The door had a small ledge overhanging it, and Mikey loved to sit on the ledge and watch the city.

That's exactly where he was, swinging his feet and listening to his iPod, when he spotted the Foot ninja, way down on a rooftop below, converged in a hidden spot. Wondering what they were up to, Mikey started to make his way down, being extra careful not to be sensed.

Once he got close enough to the group of Foot ninja to hear, he realized Karai was with them. Hiding on the next building over in the shadows, he listened in on the conversation.

"...The turtles," she was saying. "If you have noticed, they have been uncharacteristically uncoordinated, as of late."

The Foot ninja looked at each other, mumbling.

"They are obviously not functioning as well. And with instability, comes vulnerability."

There was a hesitation, and some of the Foot ninja scratched their heads.

"They are weaker, you fools!" Karai hissed. "And with this dissension among them, we have our greatest opportunity as of yet." Karai smiled, and looked at the large squad of Foot ninja. "We will take this recent fallout as a chance to strike. With the data we've recently collected, our comrades the Kraang have completed a beta version of their Mutagen Tracker. Once we get a blood sample from one of the turtles, we should be able to find the rest of them with ease." She made a little smirk. "We will pick them off like flies."

"Like flies!" The Foot ninja proclaimed, scoffing and laughing at the idea of finally handing the turtles what they deserved. Mikey gasped, alarmed.

"We will watch and wait - it should not take long for one of the turtles to roam off, away from the others. Whomever first presents himself, strike ruthlessly and with full force - show no mercy. I want the streets running with his blood! We will take a sample and destroy him, and then lay traps for the rest. With the ability to track their movement, it will be a simple task. I want you to spear their heads and march them to the Shredder to hang as trophies! We will eliminate the green menaces!"

"Eliminate them!" The Foot ninja proclaimed with animal-like ferocity. Mikey watched the ninja go wild, shouting blood-thirsty threats more intense than anything Karai had said, hungrily anticipating the destruction of the "green menaces", and Karai standing over it all, an evil smile on her face. Shocked, and suddenly afraid of being there alone, he snuck back into the shadows and rushed for home.

He had to warn the others!

* * *

Arriving safely back at the base, Mikey hesitated before going inside. He paced back and forth, off to the side of the entrance, wondering what to do. He was still shivering, and felt nauseated...he normally didn't think he'd be this shaken up, but he'd never heard the Foot plot to undermine his family in such a dark way, and right now, he was the only one who knew about it. It was already early in the morning, and everyone should be awake, Mikey thought with exhaustion. If they weren't planning on doing any night activity, the turtles generally slept at night and were more active during the day. He was going to have to tell them about what happened.

But SHOULD he tell them?

Of course, he had to do something to keep them out of danger, obviously. But if he simply told them Karai's plan, they'd just try to go stop her - which would just be handing themselves over on a silver platter, Mikey thought. They were tripping up and couldn't fight as well together, recently, and Karai was coordinating a full-force, no-mercy slaughter mission. As much as he hated to admit it, Karai was right - their incoordination was going to be their own downfall, if this kept up. So what, then? He had to do something to make sure they didn't split up, first and foremost - Karai and her ninja were waiting for them topside like hungry dogs.

Sighing, grabbing his arms to help with the shivering, Mikey turned to the entrance and went to walk inside. He'd have to do something about this, himself - he had to protect his brothers.

Walking inside, Leo immediately spotted him, and hurried over. "There you are," he said. "You look totally pale! Are you ok? Where were you? I never saw you go to bed. Did you just come back in from outside?"

"You look totally wiped out!" Raph said, also realizing Mikey was back. "What happened? You've got a look on your face like you just saw a box of puppies get run over."

"I-I'm ok," Mikey said. "I just went down to...check on that circuit breaker you guys were talking about yesterday." He said with a sigh. "I was wondering if there was anything I could do..."

"You sure?" Leo asked, unconvinced.

"That thing is totally blown," Donnie said, coming to join them. "I'm gonna have to replace it."

"That's right - heaven forbid it hold back his research for too long." Raph jeered, giving Donnie a sideways glare.

"You wanna get that bike part repaired?" Donnie retorted. "Then get off my shell."

"What'd you say, nerd-brain?" Raph asked, angrily facing Donnie.

"Guys -" Mikey started.

"Would you guys knock it off?" Leo hissed. "You're being a nuisance."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I upset the fearless leader?" Raph mocked. "Or are we just more trouble than it's worth for you?"

Sensing another fight coming, Mikey pushed Donnie out of the angry triangle and shoved in between Leo and Raph. "Would you stop fighting?" He said, holding them apart. "Look, it's nothing -"

"Darn right it's nothing," Raph scowled, and stormed off.

"Don't worry about him, Mikey," Leo sneered. "He's just being a short-tempered jerk." He turned on his heel and walked away, too, in the opposite direction of Raph. Mikey held his hand up after them, watching them walking away, wishing they would just come back and calm down a little, but not knowing what to say.

He turned to Donnie, who was watching the other two and shaking his head, a disdainful look on his face.

Gently trying to warm up to Donnie, Mikey made a careful, small smile and said, "...You know, Donnie, I can really help you out with that circuit breaker, if you want me to. Just tell me the parts you need and I'll -"

"Just drop it, Mikey." Donnie said, waving his hand at him and walking away with an irritable sigh. "I'll do it myself."

Standing there alone in the room, Mikey looked back in the direction of all his brothers, opened his mouth, closed it, and dropped his head. He trudged to his room and fell onto his bed, burying his head in his pillow and closing his eyes tight. He felt like he was gonna be sick.

.

.

.

Later that day, sometime in the evening, Mikey stumbled out of bed and, after a while, went out into the lair. He had tried his best to construct some kind of plan to stop Karai, but he was going to have to do something to make his brothers stay put. Looking around, he saw them again - looking more down than ever. Raph was on the couch again, gloomily flipping through the channels, but gave up and turned the TV off and just sat there, resting his head in his hand. Donnie tinkered once or twice with a couple small parts for a new circuit breaker, but after barely doing anything, sat back in his chair and sighed. Leo threw a few punches at the punching bag, and let it swing - it seemed like the only reason he was punching it was to watch it swing back and forth. And with Master Splinter meditating in a separate room, the whole main part of the lair just had a somewhat depressingly hopeless atmosphere.

Mikey sighed, and went to the kitchen to grab a snack. He had to head off soon - like before, everyone else seemed too uninterested to notice, but he wondered if the total silence would cause them to realize he was leaving. He didn't feel particularly hungry - actually, his stomach was filled with butterflies and the anxiety made him a little sick to think of eating. But he had to get at least a little energy before he went...

Suddenly, surprising everyone, Raph jumped up off the couch and shouted, "You know what? This is stupid!" And he kicked the chair beside him.

"What's gotten into YOU?" Donnie asked, grimacing.

"Everything!" He twirled around and grabbed the hilt of both his sais. "I'm gonna take a run. You babies have fun sitting around here."

A lump stuck in Mikey's throat and he choked on the crackers he was trying to eat. He scrambled to choke the food down and say something to stop Raph, but Leo beat him to it.

"Oh no you don't," he said, walking to Raph. "You can't go out right _now_. It's not completely dark yet."

"Heck to that!" Raph said, walking around him.

"Would you stop being so immature?" Leo said, pulling him back. "Don't be stupid. If you're so antsy, go train or something."

"Wouldn't make a lot of difference," Raph said, yanking his wrist from Leo's hand and cocking his head in a sneer. "Our fighting would still suck rotten pigfeed!"

"What are you even going on about?" Donnie asked, joining in. "If our fighting sucks, it's YOUR fault."

"_MY_ fault?!" Raph asked, whirring to face Donnie full-on.

"Yeah, _YOUR_ fault!" Donnie said, sticking his finger in Raph's face. "Your hot-headed stubbornness just gets in our way! You're right about one thing, though - not an ounce of training will fix YOUR problem!"

"Oh, well EXCUSE me, Mr. All-High-And-Mighty!" Raph said, smacking Donnie's hand aside. "And I suppose if we just all obeyed your law and did everything the way you ordained, the world would just be a peachy place! The universe doesn't revolve around you, you know!"

"Would you two stick a sock in it?" Leo ordered, pushing the two away from each other. "You're acting like pests. Go amuse yourselves if you're all so sorely restless!"

"Don't you get snooty with me!" Raph said, shoving Leo so he stumbled back. "Maybe I WOULD, Sir Perfection, if you'd _GET OUTTA MY WAY!_"

"You asking for a fight? 'Cause I'll give you one!" Leo threw back, clenching his fists. Raph started to draw his sais, Leo's hands went to his katana hilts, and Donnie whirled his bo.

"**_STOP!_**"

Everyone's hot blood seemed to freeze. After an awkward minute, the three of them looked at Mikey. The seriousness and the fear in his voice surprised everyone, including himself, and he held a fist over his mouth. Shivering a little, Mikey swallowed dryly and forced himself to ignore the fact that he was on the verge of tears. Taking a breath to make sure he had his voice under control, he said, "Listen...I...I know things have been kind of - different, lately, but we can't just keep fighting like this," he used his hands for emphasis. "We're coming apart at the seams. Look at us. We're drawing our weapons on each other now - with serious plans to use them."

The three of them looked at each other, then at the ground.

"What's going on, guys?" He asked, earnestly searching their faces for answers, but not seeing any. "Why can't we get along anymore? What happened?"

After a moment, Raph turned, twirling his sais and re-sheathing them, walking away to his room. "I don't know," he said. "But I'm not sure I wanna."

Donnie, following his lead, shook his head and walked off to his own room, slamming his door shut. Two of his brothers gone, Mikey looked back at Leo with wide eyes, crushed, as if asking what he was gonna do.

Leo sighed and closed his eyes, and turned his back, as well, and walked off to his own room. Mikey stood in the center of the lair for a few seconds, and the sudden silence and emptiness shrouded over him.

A tear let loose and hit the floor, and Mikey stepped on it, walking away and biting back the rest. He couldn't let this stop him now. He had to save his brothers - no matter what.

* * *

Leo closed the door, slid down the back of it, and put his head in his hands with a heavy, exhausted sigh. After sitting like that for a little while, he started going back over everything that had happened in his head. What DID just happen? A big, stupid fight that got way out of hand, Leo thought. And he hadn't exactly done anything to help the situation. But his brothers were just so _stubborn_...Leo shook his head. He didn't know what to do about it, or what to think. Right now, he just wanted to take a nap and forget about it for a little while.

But - _blip!_

His Tphone made a sound. New text message. Grudgingly digging it out of a little pocket in his waist strap, he checked to see who it was.

Mikey?

He opened it up, wondering, and read:

"Come to old sewer spot"

He knew what Mikey was referring to - they all called it that. There was a certain spot in the sewers he and the others played in all the time, when they were growing up. They had a lot of memories there...

The second line, however, make Leo's heart suddenly drop into his stomach.

"It's an emergency. Please hurry"


	2. The Sewers

Leo made a quick turn and rushed down the sewer cavern. As soon as he read Mikey's text, he had leaped up and stumbled out of his room for the training area and sliced his katanas over a large whetstone wheel they kept there to sharpen blades, tightened his mask and grabbed a cloak lying on a chair in the kitchen area before dashing to the entrance and tripping on his way out, in his manic rush. If Mikey was hurt, he could strip it for bandages.

He slid to a stop at the edge of the walkway, and looked at the runoff water. In this area, rainwater drained in and made its way to other sewer conduits, but there was always a large amount that stayed here. When it rained heavily, especially as Leo knew it had just recently, there was always a strong current running somewhere through the place, but the location where it was strongest would change. Most of the time, the current was running so that the old sewer spot was inaccessible, but at a certain time, you could get there - in through a little opening deep under the water, in the side of a wall. However, the current was the only way to get there, and he wouldn't be able to leave, once inside, for about an hour - and swimming against the force of the water put you in danger of drowning.

Thank goodness he had come at just the right time, Leo thought, and braced the cloak around him.

"Leo?" He suddenly heard.

"Mikey-?" He wondered aloud, looking around. Instead, he spotted Raph and Donnie hurrying down the cavern to where he was. He turned toward them.

"You guys? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Raph said, running up to Leo with Donnie.

"We got a text from Mikey saying to hurry and come to the old sewer spot," Donnie said.

"He must have sent it to all of us, then." Leo looked at his Tphone. "I got it, too."

"What do you think his 'emergency' is?" Raph asked, suddenly doubtful.

"It doesn't matter," Leo turned. "If he needs us, we have to go help. Come on, let's go see."

Leaping in diver-style, Leo jumped right into the current in the water, sweeping him to the secret passageway. The other two followed after him.

.

.

.

They came up out of the water into the peacefully quiet, dimly-lit room, and swam to the wall. Climbing up a ladder, they went up to the round-about walkway encircling the room, and looked around. It was the same as it had always been - giant pipes stuck up out of the water in the middle of the room, all twisted around and intertwined, like a giant steel forest, and went up into their own little passageways way up in the walls. The one grate at the top of the room dripped water into the pool below. The guys used to love playing on the pipes, and occasionally, seeing where their passages lead to. On the far side of the room was the large platform that was almost at level with the water, where they used to jump off and explore the grates on the floor below.

But one thing was missing -

Mikey.

"Where is the little liar?" Raph asked, looking around.

"Mikey? Are you here?" Leo called, in case he was hiding somewhere in the pipes.

After a minute, Donnie said, "I don't think he's here. Why'd he get us all to come?"

"There must be some reason," Leo said, going along the walkway to the platform on the other side. "I get a feeling there is."

Looking around, Donnie and Raph started exploring the place, too - for signs of Mikey, and for old time's sake. They hadn't been here in a long while.

Raph circled halfway around the room and looked at the pipes. He remembered how, one time when they were little, he and Mikey had tied Leo to one of the pipes while he was taking a nap, floating on his back in the water. Leo was furious, especially since they had used Mikey's nunchuks to tie him up - it took forever to get those things untangled, Raph thought with a chuckle. Looking around at the rest of the room, the utter tranquility of the place seemed to hit him for first time since they got there. It was quiet, and the sound of running water in the background was strangely lulling. Lights from the city were shining through the grate and sparkling on the water, reflecting warbled waves of light onto of the old, familiar pipes - and as damp and dark as the place was, somehow, it made him feel really warm to be there.

"You guys remember comin' down here like this?" Raph asked, sitting down on the ledge to watch the light sparkle on the water. He noticed with some surprise that Leo and Donnie were also looking around a little wide-eyed, too, dazedly lost in their own memories. "Those were some good times."

"That's just what I was thinking," Leo and Donnie said in unison, and looked at each other. The three of them laughed; then there was an awkward silence, and they all looked away from each other, feeling uncomfortable and a little ashamed. After all this fighting, to come down here and just start laughing like none of it happened...but they weren't sure exactly what to say to each other.

Noticing something, Leo looked up at the pipes. "Hey, guys! You see that?" He said, pointing. Raph and Donnie went to the platform Leo stood on to see. Sure enough, there was a piece of paper caught in the pipes - a somewhat new-looking piece of paper, probably dropped in just a while ago.

"What's that?" Raph wondered, already going to get it down.

"It kind of looks like a note," Donnie said.

"Don't get it wet," Leo cautioned.

"I know, I know. It's probably already wet, ya'know." Raph called back, climbing up the pipes. Reaching the paper, he plucked it out and looked at it.

"..._WA-!_" He cried out, shocked, and almost fell off the pipes.

"What is it!?" Leo called, holding his hands out as if trying to keep Raph from falling.

"Ye-you gotta see this! H-hang on." Raph scurried down the pipes and landed in the water, carefully holding the paper up, and swam over.

"Here," he said, shoving it into Leo's and Donnie's hands before he even crawled out. Immensely curious, Donnie and Leo looked. It was, after all, a note. Leo read it to the other two, the three of them shocked.

"To my bros, from Mikey..."

Leo paused, and they all looked at each other.

"...Sorry for calling you all down here like this. It really was an emergency - to me it was, anyway. I've only got a little bit of time to write this, so I'll just go ahead and say it - I brought you guys down to the old sewer spot hoping you'd make up with each other. The Foot have been bashing us hard and everyone's been so angry and arguing and fighting so much lately, and I just couldn't stand it. I know this place is really important to all of us, so I thought if I could remind you all of how we've always gotten along - how we always DO get along - it would cool our tempers and help us realize how TOTALLY ridiculous and silly all this fighting is. I know we get along, because we care a lot about each other, and we can't let anyone make us forget that even for a minute - not the Foot, the Kraang, or Shred-Head himself. But not that anyone could really get in between me and my bros, right?

"Unfortunately, I've got something I have to do, so I had to slip this note in through the grate from the topside. I had to make sure you guys came here at the right time, so that's what all the rush was about. Anyway, I know we don't say it enough, but I love you guys a whole, whole lot - to the moon and back a hundred times! Please don't be angry at each other anymore. Hope I can catch up with you later - M."

There was a long pause after Leo finished reading the note. After looking it over again, like he was trying to believe what he just read, he looked up at Raph and Donnie.

"Silly Mikey," Raph said, sounding more stunned than he meant to. "Always knows what to say, even when he's not here..."

Leo looked back down at the note, and sighed. "He's right," he said, "And we all know it."

"Poor Mikey..." Donnie sat back and put his head in his hands. "Yeah, he's right. And he's been trying to make us stop since we started."

"Yeah, he only ever tried to bring us back together. We've only been lashing out at him this whole time," Raph said, sitting on the ledge and kicking the water in frustration. "What a sorry bunch of idiots."

"What HAVE we been fighting about, anyway?" Leo asked, rubbing his hand over his head.

"Something stupid," Raph said, shaking his head. "Who even knows."

Grabbing his arm, Donnie looked down and said, "I'm really sorry, guys. I didn't mean the things I said..."

"Me 'neither," Raph turned to look at his bros. "I've been a real meathead. I didn't mean for everything to blow up like it did."

"If anyone's been a meathead, it's me," Leo said, rubbing his arm. "I was thick-skulled and said whatever I felt like. I wasn't thinking." Shrugging a little and looking sheepish, he added, "I'm the worst big brother ever. I've just been...a short-tempered jerk."

Raph shoved Leo's shoulder. "Well, so what? We already knew that, anyway."

The guys laughed, and Leo wrapped his arms around his little brothers' necks in a hug. "I'm sorry," he said, squeezing them.

"It's ok," Donnie said. "Don't be a dummy; you're not the worst big brother ever. You just get agitated easily because you care so much about us."

"Yeah," Raph agreed. "N' Mikey said it first – the Foot have been getting under our shells."

After Leo released the hug, thinking about Mikey again, they sat there for a minute in silence.

"We have to go find Mikey," Raph said, looking concerned.

"Yeah. Mikey deserves an apology more than anyone." Donnie nodded, worried.

"Didn't he say he was doin' something?" Raph wondered, taking the note from Leo.

"Right, he did," Leo said, his tone reflecting the strangeness of it. "I've been worried about him for a while. You guys remember how he was sleeping during the day?"

"Right - he was acting a little weird, too," Donnie agreed. "We didn't even pay attention."

"He said he slipped this in through that grate up there," Raph said, looking at the note, then up at his brothers. "That means he's topside, right?"

"What does he think he's doing?" Leo said, getting up. "Mikey isn't usually like this. I'm going to check it out."

"Us too," Raph and Donnie stood, as well.

They ran around back to the other side of the room, and prepared to dive back into the water to swim out the entrance - but as Raph was about to jump in first, Donnie pulled him back.

"Wait!" He said, blocking Raph from the ledge.

"What, what's the hold up?" Raph asked, impatient.

"Lemme see that note. And don't jump in - wait a minute, alright?" Donnie babbled, taking the note anyway and skimming back over it.

Confused, Leo and Raph walked closer to Donnie, trying to figure out what he was doing.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Leo said, "But we need to get a move on, Donnie."

"I know, I know," Donnie said, and looked back at Leo. "But think. The entrance to this room is unpassible to us right now. We can't get out of here for another thirty five minutes."

"The current," Leo breathed, shocked when he remembered.

"Exactly. And Mikey knows it," Donnie continued, showing them the note and pointing to it. "He didn't just say he had something to do - he said he had to make sure we got here at the right time. He's been acting unusual lately, hasn't he?" Donnie lowered the note, and his eyes sharpened with seriousness. "He's holding us down here on purpose. He might be in danger!"


	3. Attack!

A/N: It's action time! But oh, my poor exclamation marks...how FF has limited you so...

* * *

Thunder grumbled overhead; it was about to rain hard again. Mikey crouched, watching the squad of Foot ninja from a safe distance, in the shadows. They were running around, in and out of a large storage building, under Karai's instruction. They weren't just waiting around to ambush him and his brothers, but they were taking the opportunity to sabotage local citizens, too? Mikey scowled. The thought that he REALLY didn't have to do this - he should go back and come up with some other plan - kept creeping back into his mind, but he knew there wasn't any way out, now. This was the only way to keep his brothers safe - and there was no point in backing out now, anyway. He wouldn't live to tell about it, and he was already on the clock as it was, he thought, choking and trying to cough quietly. Taking his hand away from his mouth, he saw blood. It was already taking effect - he had to hurry up and do this.

Karai was standing apart from the other ninja scurrying around, overlooking the procedures and giving orders, with a few bodyguards who didn't seem to be paying a lot of attention. In her left hand hung a little hand-held, walkie-talkie looking device - the Kraang's latest, most stupid invention: the Mutagen Tracker. Surprised, she turned around, hearing Mikey's foot come down a few feet away, stopping.

He stood there, all by himself, nunchuks in hand and looking ready for battle. Rain had started coming down lightly, and thunder cracked through the air. "Karai," he said, letting the chained weapons fall and hang from his hands. "I'm gonna teach you and your thugs to quit sticking your noses where they don't belong!"

"What a surprise," Karai said, and smiled. "You came at just the right time, turtle." Without hesitating, she called out, "Attack!" And Foot ninja were suddenly flying past her, toward Mikey.

"School's in session!" Mikey shot back, charging ahead and letting his nunchuks fly.

Jumping up, Mikey smashed the first in the face with his foot and launched off, toward the rest. It was raining, dark, and things were moving fast - things he was mostly used to - but Mikey could tell that there were way more Foot than he'd probably ever faced all at once before. And some were much more skilled than the typical squad he and his brothers ran across on night runs - Karai was definitely calling on all of her reinforcements. Swinging his nunchucks, flipping, kicking, punching - he managed to take down a few quickly, but - a sudden stinging ache in his left arm - he was already accumulating injuries.

Tch - as long as he got to the Mutagen Tracker, he thought with a fierce scowl.

"_HRAAAAAA-!_" He cried, unleashing all his energy, skill, power, anything he had - into the fray. It was a massive, exhilarating, ruthless rush of hundreds of ninja against one determined, green little fireball - cutting through what seemed like an army as they bashed, sliced and tore at him. Coming up to a larger, stronger looking Foot, dressed differently from the others, Mikey rushed at him and slammed his body into the man, trying to bring him down. Stumbling, the ninja grabbed his arm and swung him around, smashing him through a light pole and into the corner of the building behind him, cracking his arm at the elbow and making him drop one of his nunchucks. The light pole came down, the bulb smashing and electricity sparking up everywhere.

"_Kkhaaah-!_" Mikey cried, cringing.

The man let go and backed up a step, letting Mikey fall to the ground. Gritting his teeth, he crouched back up and jumped at the guy, grabbing the broken glass on the cement and throwing it in the man's face. Yelling, he stumbled back, and Mikey pounced over his shoulders and onto his back, holding the chain of one of his nunchuks around his neck. Stumbling and struggling, the man staggered around violently, smashing Mikey into things and trying to throw him off. Slipping on the wet cement, he slid and the two went down, hitting the ground. The man came down on top of Mikey, slamming him into the concrete.

Mikey attempted to get up, but dazed, remained limp when more Foot ninja - skilled, strong ones - shoved in past the others and came in for their share of the beating. One of the smaller grabbed Mikey by the foot and tried to sling him, but gripping his nunchucks still in his good hand, Mikey whipped them at the base of the broken light pole in the ground, forcing the chains over the jagged steel and holding on as tight as he could. Other ninja rushed in and chopped through the chains, causing the ninja to jerk Mikey toward himself, preparing a powerful kick. Coming at him, Mikey grabbed the broken chain to his single nunchuck in his teeth, and receiving the blow, blocked the attack by pounding his own foot against the ninja's, and launched away again, spinning and knocking the ninja down. Grabbing up the nunchucks he dropped before, he spun those and took a stance, his broken arm throbbing and hanging at his side, watching with a keen eye to see who attacked first. He beat down the first few Foot that came at him, but after that - it was impossible to defend himself from everything. Foot rushed in at him like madness, attacking ferociously from all directions, and coughing up blood that dripped down the chain in his mouth, he felt himself getting weaker and his injuries more serious. But still he fought back - struggling and lashing out however he could, swinging the nunchuk in his mouth and clenching the others in his hand to beat them back.

Suddenly, a shout and a little coarse laughter sounded behind him, and a sharp, massive pain shot through the back of his skull. A blow forced him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him, and little glass pieces tinkled over his head. His nunchuks spun out of his grasp, away from his reach. The Foot had used the broken light pole to smash him, he realized, coughing up blood. He clenched his fists and tried to get up, but couldn't do it, and laid there as he perceived a sea of black rush at him, through the rain pouring down and pelting him - ninja kicking and beating and lashing out at him and trying with everything they had to rip him to pieces.

"_Halt!_" A thundering voice soon cut through all the noise, and the Foot stopped.

Standing aside, they let Karai walk through to Mikey, laying there in a pool of trampled blood, wheezing, scowling and struggling to get back up, like a battered dog. Half-lifeless, he glared at Karai, watching her.

"I'll admit, turtle," She said, putting the Tracker to her hip. "Michelangelo, I believe. You put up an impressive fight."

She walked to him and kneeled down, holding the Mutagen Tracker up as it quickly ejected a long needle.

Pausing, she added, "Let's get a sample before my men finish the job. Your brothers would hate to miss out on the fun."

Mikey cringed, unable to do anything, and turned his face to the ground. She pierced one of Mikey's wounds, making him flinch. Drawing the blood, Karai stood and took a step back, checking the device.

It made a sound and blinked green, and she smiled.

"Good luck to you," she mocked, turning to leave. Laughing and scoffing, the Foot came at him again, ready to go for the kill.

His face turned to the ground, Mikey made a small grin.

As Karai was walking away, the Tracker suddenly started acting up. "What?" She wondered, shocked. Noticing something was off, the Foot stopped advancing on Mikey, and looked back at Karai. Making noises and blinking, the Mutagen Tracker suddenly went haywire, short-circuited and blew out, smoke seething out from the inside.

"What is this trickery?!" Karai shouted, and stormed back to Mikey. Pounding her foot on his shell, she demanded, "Tell me what childlike prank this is!"

Wincing, Mikey smiled and turned his head to the side to look up at her. "Maybe you could call it karma?" He said. "The ambusher gets undermined. You were asking for it, K!"

Shouting with frustration, Karai threw the Tracker down and turned to the Foot. "Kill him!" She ordered. "Dispose of the imprudent sneak!"

"Cease."

Turning to the sound, everyone looked up at the nearest building. Looking down from the ledge, overshadowed, the wind blowing against him and the rain dripping from his steel armor plates, stood a man with a chilling presence.

"Shredder," Karai said, and kneeled in greeting. The Foot all around her bowed.

Leaping, the Shredder landed on the ground with a heavy thud and walked to Karai, pointing his blades at Mikey. "The pest will die anyway. If the Mutagen Tracker is now destroyed, we must put him to good use."

"What do you mean?" Karai asked.

"Cause the others to come looking for revenge," he said. "Show the three brothers his death. When they see their sibling killed, they will bring themselves to us, blinded by their own rage - and then, we will take them all down."

Walking away, Shredder went closer to one of the buildings, and bent down. He picked up Mikey's Tphone, a little battered and knocked away in the fight. Touching it, the screen came up, displaying recent missed calls from his brothers.

.

.

.

"What are we supposed to do?"

Leo, Donnie and Raph stood at the edge of the walkway looking at each other, over the area where the entrance to the room was down under the water. They tried calling Mikey, but he hadn't answered, which just scared them even more. Mikey always answered his phone. Worried he might be in serious trouble, since they couldn't reach the grate in the ceiling, they were debating whether or not they should risk swimming out against the current to exit the room. It should still be going strong, and if they didn't drown first, they could get swept off in another direction entirely and be dropped many feet into who knows where.

"We gotta do it," Raph insisted. "We don't have time to sit around here another twenty five minutes an' whine about the current. We gotta go find Mikey!"

"He's right," Donnie said. "It's a risk we've got to take. He might need our help."

Hesitating a little, Leo nodded, agreeing. "Let's go. Just be careful, alright, guys?"

Before they could take any action, though, Leo's Tphone started ringing. Surprised, he took it out and looked at it. Seeing Mikey's name show up, he fumbled with it in shock, almost dropping it over the ledge into the water.

"_Yee-!_" Leo reached out and grabbed it, panicked.

"Leo, you spazz!" Raph said, he and Donnie crowding in. "Answer it, will ya?"

Leo pressed the Accept Call button, and held it up. It was a video call, so he let Donnie and Raph watch, too.

"Mikey! Are you ok?"

"Where are you?" Raph asked, leaning over Leo's shoulder.

They didn't see Mikey, though - they saw a man with a spiked face mask, looking back with icy eyes.

"Shredder," Donnie whispered in shock, and scowled.

"What?" Leo grabbed his phone with both hands. "Shredder?! _Tell me what you've done to my baby brother!_"

"What he was owed," Shredder replied. "We thought you'd like to participate in your brother's death. Now watch as we finish the job."

"_No!_" Leo and Donnie shouted.

"Don't you touch him!" Raph called. As much as they protested, however, Shredder turned the phone toward Karai as she dragged Mikey toward a building. They couldn't see perfectly, but Mikey seemed to be very injured, and blood was everywhere. He was completely limp while Karai dragged him.

"_Mikey-!_" Leo whispered, the three of them holding the phone to their faces desperately.

.

.

Mikey's consciousness fuzzed in and out, but he knew Karai was dragging him across the ground to the building they had been messing around with earlier. Looking up, he tried to peer inside to see what they were up to. Foot were running out now, and others seemed to be making their distance from the building. Confused, Mikey shut his eyes again, his head spinning and breathing being progressively more difficult. Hanging his head, he peeked back at the long red trail he was leaving behind them.

A Foot ninja walked out of the building, handing Karai a simple control with a button on it.

"Explosives successfully planted, Mrs. Karai." He said.

Explosives?!

"Excellent," Karai nodded. Motioning the ninja to take Mikey, she handed him over and walked a safe distance from the building, as well. The Foot dragged Mikey to the entrance of the building, and paused.

"We had this place rigged to take one of you lizards out," he said. "You're gonna die anyway, but now we gotta make a show. What a waste of material."

He heaved Mikey up and slung him inside. He crashed into some empty warehouse boxes, and containers, dust and wood pieces fell on top of him.

Running back and standing next to Karai, he backed up as she held up the controller to the building.

.

.

Fire exploded and sound overpowered the Tphone's speaker, making the three panicked brothers wince.

"_NO!_" They shouted, their knees going weak and almost collapsing. Their hearts feeling to have stopped, all three of them gripping the Tphone and trying to remember to breathe, they stared into the inferno on the screen and scanned for any signs of Mikey.

.

.

"One roach eliminated," Shredder said, and tossed the phone into the flames as he walked to leave. "Come. We have more work to do," he ordered, leaping up the fire escape on the side of a building and heading off. The Foot ninja followed him, jumping up onto the building and running after him. Karai stood there for a second, watching the flames, and turned to follow the others.

.

.

The screen went to static as the signal was lost. Raph put his hands to his head and turned away, unable to think. Donnie, frozen for a minute, put his hands over his face and started asking why it had to be Mikey - why Mikey? Of all of them, why little Mikey-? But after a second, was too overcome by shock and went silent. Leo, wishing this was all a dream, that he'd wake up in a second and see all his brothers' smiling, happy faces, went numb and sank to his knees, holding his phone over his heart.

For a moment, as they stayed that way, the only thing that could be heard was the rain coming down through the grate in the ceiling, gently hitting the pipes underneath and rolling off into the water below. The usually lulling sound of water in the background lost its peaceful ambiance, and became empty white noise - but soon, they forgot about those things. Overshadowed, something started boiling in the pit of the brothers' guts.

Taking on a fierce, dark scowl, Leo glanced back at Raph and Donnie. Raph's hands had turned to firsts, and were lowered by his side, his head turned to the ground and something hot churning inside him. Donnie was looking away, gritting his teeth and seeming to be just asking for something to lash out at. Getting to his feet again, Leo turned and looked up at the two of them from under his brow. He felt as if magma was slowly starting to course through his veins, and would ignite and blaze him away if he didn't do something.

"Boys," he said. Donnie and Raph turned to look at him, malevolence in their eyes. "I believe we have a job to do."

.

.

.

Bubbles soared up all around them as they lunged into the water, drawing their weapons. Swimming directly for the exit, they fought against the torrent of the water. Coming up close, when they stopped making headway, they diverged to the sides, around the hole in the wall. Metal flashing, Raph dug his sais into the wall, and Leo his katana, while Donnie held on, grasping Leo's arm. Raph and Leo crawled their way closer to the exit, using their weapons as anchors. When they got close enough, Donnie maneuvered around Leo, and grabbed the side of the hole, the current gushing past him. Gripping his bo, he closed his eyes tight and forced his arm into the current, moving his bo out the exit and holding it across the opening. Using it as a lever, he and the guys grabbed on and pulled, forcing themselves against the current, out through the exit. Suddenly, Donnie appreciated all those pull-up sessions Leo had put them through.

Just when strength was giving out and they felt like the water was going to overwhelm them, they forced their way through. The current forced them against the wall on the outside, and they swam up and away until they broke the surface, swimming forward to crawl back up on the curb again.

Gasping, the guys pulled themselves up onto the curb, sopping wet. Leo got up first, and after helping Donnie and Raph, collapsed next to them, everyone panting.

"Good job, guys," Leo said, and opened his eyes. Biting off his exhaustion with a scowl, he staggered back up, fueled by the anger driving him forward. The other two got up, too, determination in their eyes. Without saying a word, Leo nodded and darted off down the sewer, his wet cloak trailing behind him, and they followed close behind.


	4. Moonlight

Rain continued to fall on the cold city, unable to quench the angry flames Karai and the Foot had left behind. Firemen and the police had already arrived on the scene, but were unable to get to the source. The flames had spread, and multiple buildings were now engulfed - a few of which had collapsed, blocking access to the one where Mikey was, lying beneath the rubble.

I can't believe I'm still alive, was the thought at the front of his mind - but he could barely be sure. His sight was fuzzy, and what he could make out was all black and red, anyway. Far-off sirens and the rumble of fire were in his ears, and heat scorched his paralyzed body, but the pain was gone...so he was either somehow still alive, for a little while, or he'd been sent to hell on a bullet train.

Right now, though, he figured, it was too hard to tell the difference. His mind fuzzed out, and he closed his squinted eyes.

.

.

.

"Mikey?!" Leo called. He and the other two were racing across the city, tracing small evidence of the Foot coming through. They were headed for a particularly poorly-populated section of the suburbs. His heart pounded in his chest, running as fast as he could and remembering the images on his phone. Had to get there in time...Mikey had to be alright..._please_ let them get there in time!

Donnie hurried along, keeping up with Leo. Thoughts flew through his head, and his mind raced with anxiety, confusion and anger, all out of control. What was going on? What was all that about, with Shredder-? He shook his head. Hopefully, they'd get their answers soon. Hopefully, a few of the Foot were still hanging around, so he could give somebody a piece of his mind.

Raph looked at Leo and Donnie, then bitterly ahead, at their course.

Mikey...that stupid Shredder. The minute he got his hands on him, he'd...

Suddenly surprised, Raph grabbed Leo's arm. "Leo!"

"What is it?" Leo asked, looking back.

"There," he said, pointing. They stopped on top of a building, and looked in the direction Raph had indicated. Black smoke billowed up into the sky, filled with orange embers, a ways off - not from one, but multiple buildings. Fire and police sirens sounded from that area, as well.

"That's where he's gotta be," Donnie said, already headed that way. "Come on, let's go! Hurry!"

Raph and Leo looked at each other, worried, and rushed off after Donnie.

.

.

.

They searched desperately for a place that looked like the one from the video call. Avoiding the firemen and police, the guys dodged around on the building tops until they saw a place that had to be it.

"THIS place?" Raph asked, the three of them gazing down into the building debris and flames. "How can you tell?"

"It's the center of the fire," Leo said. "And look. There's remnants of a fight down there."

They jumped down onto the concrete, and looked around. There were cracks in the cement, and someone had smashed into and crushed the corner of a building off to the side. A bent, partially melted, and shattered light pole was smashed up against the wall of a burning building across the road. The jagged base, still in the ground, had one of Mikey's nunchucks lodged in it, broken at the chain. The other piece laid a few feet away, and his other, whole nunchucks were sprawled out on the pavement a few feet from those. Blood puddles, skid marks and splotches were everywhere, and shreds of Foot clothing were lying around, too.

For a moment, the guys gazed at the scene in awe. "Did Mikey do all this?" Raph asked quietly, walking closer.

"He doesn't act like it," Donnie said, stunned. "But the guy knows how to raise shell."

"He might still be in the building," Leo said, hurrying forward. "You guys stay out here and look around, just in case."

"You kiddin' me?! No way! I'm goin' in after our baby bro, too!" Raph said, storming after him.

"What Raph said!" Donnie agreed, starting ahead. "You can't tell us to-!"

"Guys," Leo said, standing still. He looked back at them, and Raph and Donnie stopped. That was - fear in Leo's eyes, dreadfully serious fear and panic. The look itself commanded them to stay, and made them halt.

"...Listen," Leo continued, sounding unusually unstable. "He doesn't indefinitely have to still be in there...if he was thrown with the explosion, then it would be better if you found him fast. He can't have much time."

Trying to swallow with the lumps in their throats, they nodded. The three immediately dispatched in a manic search.

Leo stumbled through the debris that blocked the main entrance to the building. "_Mikey!_" He shouted, but the roaring of the flames muffled his voice. Pulling his cloak a little tighter, still wet from the sewers and the rain, he started smashing his way through more rubble. He took out his katanas and started slicing and bashing the fallen wood planks and obstacles in his way, calling out for his little brother as loud as he could.

"Mikey?!" He cried, slicing a wooden plank and kicking it out of the way, hot ash and rubble falling down on him, making him cough. "MIKEY!"

Suddenly, through the smoke, blackened wood and flames, he spotted something odd from the corner of his eye - a hand, sticking out from underneath a large, tall pile of collapsed building debris, where the ceiling had caved. Shocked, he stumbled his way forward as fast as he could, knocking against and bashing things out of his way in a rush.

Coming to the pile, he dropped to his knees and slid to a stop. "_Mikey?!_" He shouted, and sheathed his katanas to start digging his way into the rubble, shoveling ash away and heaving large planks aside. "Mikey, is that you?! _Answer me!_ **_Mikey!_**"

Stopping to cough, when he looked back again, he startled back. Blood was pooled on the ground, leaking out where Mikey was supposed to be. Wiping his forehead, Leo choked back his emotions, gritted his teeth and dove in again. "_Mikey!_ Can you hear me? _Say something, please! **Mikey!**_"

Finally digging his way through, he saw his little brother - lying there on his stomach, beaten, burned, cut and bruised, just about bleeding to death - and huge, jagged, broken wood pillars piercing his right calve and forearm.

Trying to convince himself to move - he had to get Mikey out of there! - Leo sat where he was, frozen, looking on, holding his hands out but dropping them again.

Oh, no, he thought, reaching out and putting his hand on Mikey's shell. Oh, Mikey...how could this have happened? He wondered. How could he have let this happen? Was he...?

Shocking him back into action, a loud snap and crackling sounds broke out overhead, and he looked up to realize the debris pile was caving in again. Jumping forward and turning, Leo covered Mikey protectively and shut his eyes tight.

Ash, heavy wood planks and ember fell on top of him, and he desperately held them up, trying to keep Mikey from being crushed and buried. Coughing, Leo opened his eyes again, and looked at him. He staggered up to his feet, holding the debris up.

He didn't know what to do. Mikey -...if only he could move, and get out of the way... "Mikey?" He called, trying to wake him up. Stumbling under the weight, he shoved Mikey with his knee. Just alive...just as long as he was alive...that's all that mattered. "Come on, Mikey!...We gotta get out of here-!" He said as the planks shifted, and he started forward a little, trying to hold them up. Mikey remained still. Ka-! If only he weren't pinned by those pillars, Leo thought, maybe he could pull them out of this mess. If he were just conscious - but he wasn't even moving at all. Tears welled up in his eyes, and struggling, the smoke getting to him and making him weaker, he squinched his eyes closed and did everything he could to muster his strength.

"_Leo!_"

Leo looked up, and saw two forms leaping over the rubble and rushing towards him. Coughing, he blinked to get his fuzzy vision back, and saw the red and purple bandannas before the wearers themselves.

"You guys? What did I tell you-?" He said, collapsing a little under the heavy rubble.

"Some kinda messed-up nonsense," Raph replied, diving in to help Leo lift the weight. Donnie crawled in and, despair on his face, checked Mikey's condition and what he'd have to do to get him out. Swallowing and gritting his teeth, he crawled behind Leo and Raph and started pulling upward on the plank piercing Mikey's leg as hard as he could.

Managing to lift the debris up, Raph and Leo threw the wooden planks and rubble off of them, and turned to help Donnie. Heaving with all their strength, slowly, they started raising the wooden plank up and out of Mikey's leg, and to the side. Donnie held it there, strenuously forcing his back against it while Raph and Leo slowly lifted the other one, growling with the effort.

Forcing the second large, heavy plank to the side, more ash, splinters and ember fell on them, making them cough. Finally, with Mikey free, Donnie and Raph picked him up while Leo held the first plank back. In a rush, they bolted away from the pile of rubble, making a break for the exit.

The sound was like an enormous tree falling. Crackling wood and hot ash falling down in a smoke-storm, the four made it out of the building before it collapsed. Falling on the ground, they laid and rested for a moment as it slowly cascaded down, sending sparks flying upward into the dark sky in a dancing fury. The rain on their bodies was a welcome relief. All the water that was in Leo's cloak had already dried up in the raging heat. Leo got up on all fours and staggered away in a coughing fit, and Raph went to check on him. Donnie turned Mikey over to look at him, panting and exhausted.

"Mikey-?!" He said, shocked. Opening his eyes a little, Mikey was still just barely hanging on to the edge of consciousness, and weakly looked up at him with a small smile.

Supporting Leo and patting him on the shell as he brought him back, Raph saw Donnie frantically waving them back over, and they hurried.

"You're-!" Raph started, lowering Leo down with him next to Mikey. Leo got on his hands and knees and leaned over him.

"_Mikey!_" He said, desperate panic in his voice.

"You guys..." Mikey quietly wheezed. The rain gently falling on his body, the fire, distant sirens and quiet thunder in the background all seemed strangely...peaceful. The pain had left long ago, but now he started to feel warm - a fuzzy kind of warm that was different from the heat of the fire. He wasn't bleeding anymore...the last of it was stained on his chin. "...You guys weren't supposed to come."

"That's precisely why we did," Donnie responded, looking down at him with a hopeful smile.

"It's gonna be ok, Mikey," Leo rambled, whipping off his cloak and laying it over his little brother. "It's gonna be alright. Just - just stay with us, ok?"

Mikey looked at his three brothers, all pleadingly bent over him and staring down with wide eyes, as if insisting him to reach up and hang on to consciousness. Frustration, panic, confusion, sorrow and unexceeded worry were all mixed up on their faces. Smiling a little, sadly, Mikey whispered, "You're not fighting anymore." He choked up a little, happy but regretting that this might have been the alternative.

The guys shut their eyes, trying to fight back the tears escaping down their faces. "Of course not, shell-for-brains," Raph said, and whipped some tears off with his fist. "We're brothers, after all! An' nothing an' nobody can change that!"

Mikey let out a hoarse chuckle, smiling brightly. "Do you guys remember?" He rasped, gazing up at the sky. Through the flames and the smoke, his shifty vision made out the moon, shining clear and bright, as a storm cloud started to swallow it up.

The three looked down at him, their hearts racing, watching Mikey's eyes grow darker.

"To the moon and back," he said, a tear streaking down each side of his face. "A hundred times."

He closed his eyes, smiling. Shuddering a little, he let his head fall sideways with a quiet, exhausted sigh, and laid still.

.

.

"Mikey?!"

.

.

The guys jumped forward, grabbing him and holding his head up. Raph moved Leo's cloak and put his head to Mikey's chest, trying to hear his heartbeat, and Donnie checked his wrist for a pulse. Leo supported Mikey's head in his hands, leaning in to try to see any signs of life.

"I got nothing," Donnie rambled, panicked.

"Is he breathing?" Leo asked, putting a hand on Mikey's stomach.

"I don't know," Raph shook his head and growled with frustration, sitting up. "Mikey! Ya hear me?! Wake up, bonehead! _Mikey!_"

"Wait," Donnie said, his thumb still on Mikey's wrist, and leaned over to his heart. "H-he's got a pulse, but it's weak and racing. His heart is fibrillating." He stammered.

"Come on, Mikey!" Leo said, putting his hands over Mikey's heart and pressing down rhythmically. "Don't do this...!"

The rain splashed the concrete around them as they waited - seconds felt like hours - and Donnie and Raph could only sit there, watching Leo press into Mikey's chest, lean in to check, start pressing again. The rain seemed to develop a sudden chill, as if scolding their efforts and stubbornly insisting on the lingering death in the air. Donnie held on to Mikey's wrist with both hands, watching his pulse, and Raph sat on the other side, tightly gripping Mikey's hand while determination and terror fought for control in his head.

Mikey made a small gasp and shifted, looking distressed.

Halting, Leo and the guys looked back at him, their hearts leaping into their throats with anxiety. "It went back to normal," Donnie gasped, looking at Leo. "But it's weak."

"Let's get him out of here," Raph said, lifting Mikey up. "We gotta get help. Hurry, let's go!"

* * *

A/N: Put at the bottom to conceal the spoiler! - I know Leo isn't performing proper CPR...I only did it because, to me, the brothers' relationship is strictly platonic. I know there's nothing wrong with CPR, but I was still afraid it might give the wrong idea.

Once again, FF took away most of my poor exclamation marks where I needed them, but with some improv on my part I hope you still receive the same effect. They need to change that, you know?


	5. Teetering

A/N: Sorry for textblocking you guys so much. Haha!

In case you were wondering, the ribs of a turtle line its shell, and mostly run along its back instead of wrapping around to the front, like human ribs. I picture the guys' ribs to be more like a human's, because of their mutation - so Mikey's could probably be broken with a few hard hits to the middle, if, say, he happened to be involved in some outrageous fight...

* * *

Master Splinter blinked.

The atmosphere had become suspensefully quiet - somewhat like a hospital. He and his sons were all in the lair - one motionlessly lying on a makeshift medical bed, a mattress on the floor, one sitting in a chair fiddling his thumbs, one pacing back and forth across the floor and another sitting on the floor against the couch with his head in his arms. They'd already been back for almost two days, but they were still as worried and fidgety as when they came in, carrying their smallest brother.

He was shocked when he saw the state they were in - especially Mikey. He was covered in blood and battle injuries, his right arm and calve were pierced, his left arm was broken, multiple ribs were cracked, he had burns all over and - for some reason - down his throat, he'd lost far too much blood, his breathing was shallow and his heart was weak, relapsing into cardiac arrest four times after they arrived. The three of them had tried to hash out some sort of manic explanation, but they were all talking at once and their words stumbled over each other, so Master Splinter told them to save the talk for later. Receiving emergency treatment as fast as he did was the only thing that saved Mikey - Donnie did everything he could, as far as his knowledge of medicine went, until a couple others arrived to help. Leatherhead - their highly intelligent reptilian friend, who had a sufficient amount of medical expertise himself, who hurried to the lair when he got the call, and - Mr. Murakami, the blind noodle-shop owner they had befriended, who evidently worked as an emergency veterinarian before he lost his sight.

Though the medical expertise Mr. Murakami had to offer was somewhat limited to normal animals, he had indirect access to some essential tools and appliances they needed to treat Mikey, and with the turtles' help, managed to bring them with him. The brothers donated some much-needed blood to be transfused to Mikey, which helped to pull him out of immediate danger - though they insisted to donate more than Mr. Murakami would let them. Having treated them for minor burns and smoke inhalation - Leo considerably more than the other two - Mr. Murakami and Leatherhead were monitoring Mikey, after performing multiple procedures to try to bring him back to stability. They insisted Donnie rest, after the blood donation, and they were all impatiently waiting around to see what would happen. Master Splinter stayed in the main area with his sons, waiting with them.

Leatherhead approached them. Raph stopped pacing and Donnie quit fiddling his thumbs, and the three of them looked up. Master Splinter also turned, hearing him walk up. "We're still watching your brother to see how he fares," he reported. "Mr. Murakami and I made a somewhat odd discovery, however."

"What is it?" The guys asked, frantic.

Leatherhead ran his hand over the back of his head, disconcerted. "Donatello, you remember the burns going down Michelangelo's throat, yes?"

"Yeah," Donnie nodded.

"On investigation, those burns seemed to be linked to some internal damage we found - and we discovered trace amounts of acidic poison in his blood. The damage is extensive...with you and your brothers' donations, however, his blood's pH levels are much more balanced than they were."

"Acidic poison?!" Donnie asked, startled. Leo and Raph looked at each other, shocked.

"Indeed," Leatherhead confirmed. "We're not positive what kind, exactly. Just now, Mr. Murakami and I had to rush to treat it and remove what remained, though traces are still in his body - particularly his organs. The substance seemed to have been tampered with, so that its corrosive properties most severely reacted with metals - it was particularly tricky to remove. It's hard to tell, but we believe Mikey may have swallowed a large dose of it, and injected some into his bloodstream, as well."

Staring for a second, the guys went numb, and looked down. Donnie put a hand to his forehead, and Master Splinter looked on silently in surprise.

"You're kiddin' me..." Raph mumbled in shock, sitting on the ground.

"We can inquire about it when he wakes up." Leatherhead said, but then crossed his arms and sighed doubtfully. "There's another thing, however..."

Worried, the guys looked back at Leatherhead.

"The poison was in Michelangelo's body long enough to cause severe damage - to his system as much as his organs. And that, coupled with the rest of the harm he suffered, nearly killed him. Honestly, it's a miracle he's even still alive. I'm certain the only reason he is, is because the three of you were able to make it to him when you did - and his tenacious spirit. He must truly be a persistent fighter, to have made it this far."

The three of them silently agreed, swallowing and wondering where he was going with this.

Leatherhead continued, "...Because of this damage, I am unable to tell you at this point what his outcome will be. Quite frankly, if Michelangelo can survive this, he isn't being very convincing."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Leo asked, grabbing the straps across his chest.

Leatherhead looked at the floor, troubled. "...I'm giving you an honest, medical opinion, particularly because of the circumstances your brother is facing," he said, and looked back up at them. "The damage he took in was too much for him to handle, and overwhelmed his vital functions. Mr. Murakami and I have been doing everything we can to pull him back to a relatively safe condition, but he hasn't responded as well as we'd hoped to the treatments. As it is, he's just barely hanging on. He still may have hope, but..." Leatherhead rubbed his hand behind his head. "You boys had better start praying."

He turned to go back to Mikey, where Mr. Murakami was adjusting an appliance. After a minute, the guys looked at each other, completely lost for words. Raph put his face in his hands, and shook his head. Leo and Donnie glanced at each other, their minds frazzled with shock, and then away, before they let each other see their eyes water up. Unable to do anything else, Leo turned and buried his face in the couch seat, his arms wrapped around his head, and Donnie sat down with his arms around his knees, and laid his head down. Wrecked silence settled over the room, and Master Splinter sorely looked around at his grieved three sons.

He closed his eyes tight, and for a moment, placed his hand over his heart, quietly letting out a distressed sigh. Then, opening them, he dropped his hand and looked at the three of them firmly.

"My sons," he started. Rubbing their eyes, the guys looked back up at Master Splinter, lost.

"Do not despair," he said. "Your brother went to these lengths to fight for you, did he not?" He walked to Raph, and prodding him to stand, brought him to where Leo sat. "Now is the time for you to fight for him. We must have faith in Michelangelo, and do everything we can to secure his recovery." Motioning for Donnie to come over, too, he put his hands on his sons' shoulders, and looked at them squarely. "We must not sit idly by. Your brother needs you now more than ever – all of you."

Looking up at Master Splinter, a light came back into their eyes. For a minute, they looked around at each other, as if trying to confirm their feelings.

"But sensei," Donnie said, anxiously leaning forward. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Anything you can," he replied. "And everything you can. While Michelangelo remains in this state, emergency care will only do so much. As he struggles through the most challenging stage of the healing process, he must have the full support of his family, no matter what." He looked up at Mikey, watching as Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami busily worked back and forth. Leo, Donnie and Raph followed his gaze. "Michelangelo must be nurtured back to health patiently," he said, and his tone turned unsure and concerned. "His position is precarious."

As the four of them watched Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami, Raph looked down, making the others turn. He clenched his fists and said, "We better hurry up, then...when Mikey wakes up, he owes me a _serious_ explanation!"

A determined smile crossing their faces, Donnie and Leo nodded.

"Same here!" Leo agreed.

"Right!"

"Come on, you bums, let's get to it already!"

Smiling, Master Splinter watched them scurry off in different directions, to find a way to help Mikey. While they were busy, he went to Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami to watch his son's progress. Kneeling down and grabbing his hand, he looked at the heart monitor hooked up to him. Mikey laid there, unmoving - and only breathing with the help of the breather attached to his mouth. Master Splinter closed his eyes with a small, heavy sigh. Right now, being there was the most he could do.

* * *

Though Mikey's condition continued to teeter in place, over the next week, the lair felt more busy and lively. Because of the massive amount of blood he'd lost, and some other reason they couldn't seem to figure out, Mr. Murakami said Mikey was still at serious risk for decreasing in temperature and going into shock, so he had three blankets piled up on him. Donnie delved deep into acid research, and worked up an antidote to help flush out any remaining pollution that he could. Always keeping a constant watch over him, Leo and Raph did everything they could think of to help out, and made sure Mikey was always warm and had everything they thought he needed. Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami would move to other areas of the lair for a break when there was nothing to be done or they were giving Mikey some space to rest, but it seemed like at least one of the guys was always up there, watching over him, helping out, or making sure he was comfortable. While everyone else was rushing around, Master Splinter mostly took over the cooking, and stood by as an available hand and a source of encouragement. After a while, three weeks later, Mikey's condition seemed to remain mostly unchanged, which only caused the guys to be more flustered than ever. Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami insisted that the lack of change was neither good nor bad, but unconvinced and restless, the guys refused to leave his side. Determined they'd be there if Mikey needed anything at all, or if his condition changed even slightly, they ended up sleeping on little makeshift beds of pillows and blankets around his mattress.

One morning, Master Splinter walked into the lair and looked over to where Mikey was. Surprised, he looked on in silence, and smiled.

Leo, Raph and Donnie were all sleeping around Mikey's mattress, half-looking like they were guarding him, and half-sprawled out close to him in deep sleep. Each of them laid so they could whip their weapons up at a moment's notice, but the three of them looked relaxed, lying comfortably next to Mikey and his bed, protectively positioned all around him and the medical appliances attached to him. Mikey himself had a peaceful, warm look on his face. Suddenly, the fear that had been groveling in Master Splinter's gut over the past few weeks seemed to lift away, if just for a moment, and reassurement came in its place.

Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami walked over to them, waking them up. Lazily rubbing their eyes, they looked up to see them doing a checkup on Mikey's condition via the monitors.

Coming to watch with his sons, Master Splinter went and stood beside them, waiting for the report.

After talking with Leatherhead, Mr. Murakami turned to them first. "I have good news," he said.

Shocked, the guys all but leaped forward in anticipation.

"Well?! Spill it!" Raph said.

"Patience, my son!" Master Splinter scolded. "But please do spill the beans, as they say, Murakami-san."

"We don't know why, or how," Mr. Murakami said, and smiled. "But Michelangelo seems to be slowly improving. It didn't look like he was going to make it - especially after all this time, though we wanted to remain as hopeful as we could," he said. "But he seems to be coming out of the worst of it. It's too soon to say for sure, but this is the first time Mr. Leatherhead and I could have a breath of relief."

The three of them smiled widely and looked at each other, then up at Master Splinter.

"He's," Donnie said, sniffing. "He's gonna be ok?"

Leo hugged Raph, ecstatic. "You guys, Mikey's pulling through! He's gonna be alright!" He said, and laughed. Even Raph was so happy that he let Leo hug him - while pushing his face away. Master Splinter smiled warmly, a weight visibly lifted from his shoulders.

"Don't be so quick to celebrate, my friends," said Leatherhead, coming to join the conversation, holding a clipboard with paper gathered from around the lair. "Now is a test of patience. Thankfully, Michelangelo looks to have improved, but we have to build momentum on this or he could easily fall back. You brothers have been a large part of the reason for his recovery. If you continue with the support you've been giving, he could be better before you know it."

Glowing with determination, the guys nodded.

Leatherhead walked back to the medical equipment and Mr. Murakami followed, while the guys started talking excitedly with each other and Master Splinter. "It truly is a miracle," Mr. Murakami said, lowering his voice so the others wouldn't hear. "You and I both agreed young Michelangelo wouldn't make it, yes?"

Leatherhead grunted in agreement. "Indeed,"

"How is it possible?" Mr. Murakami asked, more out of amazement than curiosity.

Leatherhead smiled. "It isn't," he said. "Unless you have three over-protective brothers who love and dote you back to health."


	6. Blue Eyes

The sensation of pain numbly droned into his body.

Groaning, Mikey slowly came to consciousness without opening his eyes. For a moment, he just laid there, letting his senses fuzzily come back to him, one by one. As he rested, he noticed a breather was connected to his mouth, and he could hear the steady rhythm of an electronic heartbeat in the background.

Suddenly, the events that had happened and the fact that he was still alive hit him like a smack to the face, and he opened his eyes with a shocked gasp.

He was back in the lair, staring up at the ceiling. Seeing the breather, he followed the tube to the right until he saw the air tank, and the computers hooked up to him beside that. A patch was connected to his forehead and his chest over his heart, with wires that ran up to the computers. Surprised at the sight of them, he slowly looked back, and down at himself. Underneath the blankets, he could tell he was all wrapped up from his injuries - his left elbow, right forearm and right calve had big casts on them, and he had bandages and patches and medical wrap all over him from his burns and battle injuries. His mid-section was wrapped up and hurt really bad - he probably cracked some ribs. They must have been feeding him liquid food while he was unconscious - but he was insanely thirsty, and his throat felt like it was on fire. His banging scalp reminded him that he had the worst headache, too.

The fact that he was in the lair meant his brothers brought him back...worry and nervous guilt crept into his mind now. He wondered if they were alright...did they find out what happened with Karai? How mad were they gonna be, whether they did or not? Groaning, he irritably yanked his mouth away from the breather, making it fall and roll on the floor by the air tank, which automatically switched off. He closed his eyes and laid his head to the side, wishing he could wake up and realize this was all just a really bad dream.

Hearing somebody walking toward him, he opened his eyes again.

Donnie was walking to Mikey's bed, carrying a clean towel and a bowl of water. Deep in his thoughts, he stared at the ground. It had been a full month and a half since they brought Mikey back. Master Splinter, Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami had gone out again to get groceries and restock on medical supplies, so he and his brothers were left in the lair to look after Mikey. Sighing, he looked up to see Mikey looking back at him, with tired, uncharacteristically dull blue eyes.

His stomach leapt into his throat and he almost yelped. He stopped walking and froze, and for a moment, his mind went totally and completely blank. Unable to register what he was seeing, and Mikey surprised to see Donnie, they just stared at each other.

Looking at Donnie, Mikey made a tired, small smile, and then smiled bigger, warmly and somehow apologetically.

The towel Donnie was carrying hit the floor, and the bowl of water came after it, splashing water everywhere.

"_Mikey!_"

Next thing he knew, he was being squeezed tightly, wrapped up in Donnie's arms in a warm hug, making the blankets fall down. Mikey cringed, pain shooting through his ribcage and arms, but he didn't care. "Mikey, we were so worried - boy, you have no idea - I can't believe you're awake! We were so scared, I swear - you're finally...you have no idea..." He rambled, finally choking up and snuggling him happily. Mikey felt tears drip down onto his head. He couldn't move his body at all, so he snuggled his head against Donnie's chest to comfort him a little, smiling.

Laughing, Donnie loosened the hug a little and rubbed his eyes. "Do you feel ok? What's hurting?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but it only came out as a dry, almost inaudible rasp - and it made his throat flare up with pain, making him cringe.

"Oh," Donnie looked concerned. "Right, you probably can't talk right now. Your throat is injured..." After a second, he smiled. "Don't worry. It'll be fine; you'll be better in no time." He gave Mikey another snuggle and kissed his forehead, then turned. "Raph! Leo!" He shouted. "Guys, get over here! Hurry! - _Guys!_"

Rushing to see what Donnie was shouting about, Leo and Raph came to the door of the meditation room, where they were temporarily storing medical equipment and supplies for Mikey. Seeing a water bowl and a rag dropped on the floor and Donnie anxiously bent over Mikey, something in their gut turned to hot iron, and agitation rushed through their veins. They ran forward towards the two.

"Don, Mike!" Raph shouted, fear in his voice. They approached the two of them and nervously leaned in to see what was the matter, scared.

Mikey looked up at them, surprised, and smiled with a silent laugh.

"He's ok!" Donnie said, tearfully looking up at them. "He's awake, he's ok! Look!"

They looked down at Mikey for a minute, trying wrap their heads around the fact that - he was awake - he was actually awake. Suddenly, their fear melted away and turned into joy, shock and disbelief, and tears welled up against their will.

"Donnie, you little airhead!" Raph whined, grabbing the two of them in a strong hug, squeezing Donnie as tight as he could. "You had me all worried, ya' little-!" He said, but stopped, too choked up.

"Sorry," Donnie wheezed, smiling and trying to endure being crushed. Raph scrubbed his fist against his head, and hugged the two of them tight again.

"You," he croaked, holding Mikey close and trying to hide the tears. "You really scared me."

Mikey did his best to hug Raph back, giving him an apologetic snuggle.

Peering around Raph, Donnie looked over at Leo. "Hey, what's wrong? Leo?" He asked. Raph looked around, too.

Leo stood motionless, stunned, with a hand loosely over his mouth and tears in his eyes. Mikey looked over at him, a little worried - and Leo saw his blue eyes, for the first time since that night, when everyone was fighting and turned their backs on him - when he looked helplessly up at Leo with those same blue eyes, almost expecting him to do exactly what he did - turn and walk away. And not but a few hours later, when he was swallowed up by flames, because he was beaten, unfairly outnumbered and all alone; and his normally bright, cheerful eyes going dark and blank.

But now, looking over at him with concern on his face, all Mikey wanted to do was see if Leo was alright, and make him feel better. Two tears streaked down his face, and he dove in and wrapped his arms tightly around Mikey, snuggling against him and holding him close.

"I can't believe...you're really ok...Mikey, my poor little brother...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry." He said, shaking his head and gently squeezing him tighter.

Mikey nuzzled him with his head, making Leo look back down. He smiled up at him, as if telling him everything was ok, but seeing all his brothers crying made him start to cry, too. Leo kissed his forehead and pressed his own into Mikey's with a little laugh, wiping his little brother's tears away with his thumb and holding him tight. Raph and Donnie joined in too, and they all had a big, wet, happy hug, rocking their baby brother and laughing tears because they were finally sure he was going to be ok. Mikey let them rock and cradle and snuggle and kiss him, feeling safe enough to relax for the first time in a while, and he struggled not to fall asleep right there in their arms.

"Guys," a weak voice rasped - a quiet, pained sound that was barely a voice at all. A little surprised, they looked at Mikey, who suddenly had an uncertain look on his face.

"Are you," Mikey started, wincing in pain, then said, "Are you mad at me?"

"Mad?! You sure yer' alright?" Raph asked, poking his forehead.

"I just...thought..." Mikey said, and cringed.

Shaking his head, Leo pulled him into another hug. "We're not mad at you," he said, and Raph and Donnie nodded in agreement. "But we would like to know what that was all about with the Foot, and just what you were thinking, going in all by yourself...and why you seem to have swallowed acid?"

Mikey nervously looked away.

"Anyway, _when_ you've recovered a little more." Leo continued, releasing him. "Don't push yourself."

"But...wouldn't listen -...wouldn't have been able to -"

"Doesn't matter, shell-for-brains!" Raph said, covering Mikey's mouth shut and lightly knocking the top of his head. "Don' ever do that again, or we'll pound 'ya!"

"Really though." Leo concurred, and the three of them looked scoldingly down at him. A little nervous, Mikey made his cutest pouty face.

The guys laughed, and Mikey smiled, too - until his throat welled up with burning, and he leaned forward and started lightly hacking, gripping his hand over his mouth. Each cough burned with a ripping pain. Worried, the guys put a hand on his shell, trying to comfort him.

Taking his hand away, Mikey saw blood, a splotch on his hand and dripping through his fingers. Squinting at it, he cringed when his headache started pounding. Suddenly lightheaded, he fell backwards, his sight going fuzzy.

He slowly opened his eyes, and realized he'd blacked out for a few seconds as muffled voices calling his name became clearer. The guys were leaning over him, all of them having reached out to catch him when he fell, and were trying to get him to wake up. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Mikey?" Leo said, holding his head up.

"Geez, Mikey!" Raph exclaimed, hugging him. "Don't do that!"

"You ok?" Donnie asked, putting a hand on Mikey's head. He wearily nodded, and shivered.

Going to grab a paper towel, Leo came back and cleaned him up. "And that's why I said you need some rest," he said, sighing sympathetically. Raph grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around Mikey.

"Your throat is in pretty bad shape right now." Donnie said. "You should try not to talk for a while - it'll only strain your symptoms. Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami have been here, giving you medical care. We'll put something together to get your throat back in shape, don't worry." Smiling, Donnie added, "I'll go get you a glass of water - I bet you're thirsty."

Donnie got up and left to get the water. Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami? Mikey paused on that thought. Though he was thankful they'd come - relieved, really - he couldn't help feeling bad. After he'd dealt with Karai and the Foot, he hadn't really had any plans or predictions as to what would become of him. He just wanted his brothers out of danger. He hadn't meant to make such a big fuss...when they came back, when he could speak again, he'd have to seriously thank them.

Leo and Raph looked back at Mikey, and were surprised at how tired he looked. He seemed to be about to fall asleep. "Y'know, for a little guy," Raph said, giving him a pat, "You sure can show'em who's boss. Looked like you put the smack-down on those Foot lowlifes."

Mikey silently giggled. Raph rubbed his head, saying, "Ain't nobody gonna touch my little bro! Get some sleep. G'night, champ,"

Letting Leo hold the blankets up around Mikey, Raph got up and left to give him some peace. Donnie came back with the glass of water, and handed it to him. Seeing it, Mikey anxiously took the cup and gulped it all down, water trickling out of his mouth.

"Poor guy," Donnie said, watching him. "Poor, messy guy," he laughed a little, cleaning him up and taking the glass again. Mikey smiled a thank-you up at Donnie.

"Don't worry about it. Just take it easy, alright?" Donnie poked his nose, and stood again. "I gotta go look into some things, now. You make sure and get some rest - give your throat some time to heal. I'll be back around later." Leaving, he walked away to the meditation room to inspect some of the medicine stored in there. He was probably already going to look into a serum for throat damage, Mikey thought.

Leo grinned, and turned back to him. Mikey lazily rubbed his eyes, and looked up at Leo. "I'm sure you've got a lot to tell us, and we've sure got some questions...we'll sit down and get everything settled later, 'k?"

He pulled Mikey into one more warm, strong hug. Relaxing, Mikey suddenly went totally limp, comfortably resting in Leo's arms. When he looked down at him again, Mikey was fast asleep, his head leaning against his chest and a small, peaceful smile on his face. Laughing quietly, Leo kissed Mikey's forehead again, and laid him back down on his bed.

Even with the blankets, Mikey shivered a little. Looking around, Leo spied his cloak from before, and went over to get it. He had thrown it across a nearby rail and forgotten it, when they brought him in. Tucking it in around Mikey, he smiled with satisfaction, seeing him snuggle up in it all warm and cozy.

"Sleep tight, little troublemaker," he said, and left him to rest.

.

.

.

Over the next two weeks, Mikey mostly rested, but would wake up occasionally - and when he did, his brothers would sit by his bed and keep him company. Most of the time, they just drew on his casts and talked with each other about whatever was on their minds, getting Mikey to coin in with gestures, and laugh when Raph made some absurd or sarcastic comment. When Master Splinter, Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami had come back to the base, they immediately told them Mikey had woken up, and they hurried over to see. Mr. Murakami and Leatherhead confirmed that Mikey was now well on the road to recovery, and everyone was able to relax a bit more. Of course, he still required constant medical attention, but his need was much less severe. Donnie helped whip up a thick, honey-like syrup that was supposed to drastically improve his throat's and stomach's healing process, and by the end of the two weeks, he could talk again with much less pain, despite a lingering rasp. That's when they decided to sit down with him and get an explanation.

* * *

A/N: I endorse intense fluffiness! XD


	7. Small Talk

Mikey sat on the edge of his bed on the floor, looking rather fatigued, and everyone else sat around him in a little circle. Mr. Murakami had taken the patches on his forehead and chest off, so he could move freely. Mikey had Leo's cloak wrapped around him, and he pulled it closer with his right hand. His left arm hung in a sling, so he couldn't use it.

"First off, let us give you these back." Donnie said, handing Mikey his battle companions.

"My nunchucks," Mikey said, taking them with relief. They had repaired his broken pair, replacing the chain. "Thanks a ton, you guys,"

"No problem," Leo nodded. "We grabbed them when we rushed back to the lair. It was kinda tough getting the one in the light pole out, but Raph handed you over and got it - it hit his head, I think."

"Did not!" Raph argued, making everyone laugh. Sighing, Raph said, "Anyway, to the point. All we know is that you trapped us in the old sewer spot, went crazy-ape on the Foot, and made them blow you up. Could you _please_ fill in the gaps for us?"

Mikey shifted, looking a little guilty. "Well," he said, "I'm not really sure where to start...no, I do. It was when you guys were all arguing," he remembered, and scratched his head with a sigh. "I wanted some fresh air, so I went out and spotted Karai. I went in to spy on them, and overheard a plan to take us out."

"Really?" Leo said, looking concerned.

Mikey nodded. "They knew...they could tell, from our other fights, that we were having a few...problems. Karai wanted to take advantage of that, and they were planning on sniping us out, one by one."

"Why didn't ya' tell us?!" Raph asked, realizing they'd all dodged a really close bullet.

"You wouldn't listen," Mikey exclaimed, weakly using his good arm for emphasis. "And anyway, you couldn't -"

"Wait," Leo cut in, "This night you're talking about...was that when -?"

"Yeah." Mikey rubbed the cast on his elbow nervously. "I...I'm sorry...I couldn't make myself tell you...I hate to say it, but Karai was right. If I had told you guys, you would'a all just charged in and gotten yourselves annihilated. I...I had to make a plan and go after them myself."

"So you did," Leo said, and shook his head. "All by yourself, for us?"

"Yeah," Mikey rasped, nodding again, looking down.

"But what did you do, exactly?" Donnie asked, bewildered. "We found traces of acid in your blood, you know? What happened?"

Mikey stared at his toes, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "Well...the Kraang invented this weird tracker thingy - Karai called it a 'Mutagen Tracker'," Mikey said. Surprised, everyone listened intently. "They figured out how to track us through our mutated DNA, I think, which was supposed to be gotten through our blood. I overheard that, so I made my own plan." Shifting again and sighing uncomfortably, he pointed over at Donnie's lab and said, "I snuck in there and looked for the chemicals you keep to experiment with, Donnie. After doing a little research on the web, I decided to use your sulfuric acid, and looked up how to mess with it so it would do what I wanted. I...knew it would be pretty painful, but...I took one of your medical needles and injected it into myself about four times, and drank the rest - I had to make sure enough of it got into my system, into my bloodstream."

Shocked, everyone stayed silent. After a moment, Leatherhead looked down at the ground. "Sulfuric acid," he repeated, almost in wonder. "That explains your throat, and why you are so liable to get chilled, as well. We were worried you were going to go into shock because of it, young one." He said.

"Were you experiencing difficulty breathing after internalizing the acid?" Mr. Murakami asked.

"Yeah," Mikey said, to which Mr. Murakami nodded in confirmation.

"The substance is quite toxic, and can cause many complications. It's a wonder you survived it,"

"I tried making it react less with skin," Mikey said, "And more with metallics. I figured it would burn a hole in my neck if I didn't, anyway."

"Your tampering with it just might be the reason it didn't kill you on the spot," Leatherhead agreed.

Donnie shook his head. "I was right...I was right, I knew it - Mikey, _why?_ - I went to inspect my lab after we brought you back, and all my sulfuric acid was gone, and a needle was missing and - oh, Mikey, why'd you have to do it?" He asked, putting his head in his hands. "Don't you know how _dangerous-?_"

"It's not your fault," Mikey said, reaching out to Donnie. "I had to. And if you didn't have it, I would've stolen it from somewhere else, and probably gotten into a lot of trouble."

"Any more trouble than you're already in?" Donnie asked, suddenly going angry. Mikey hid his face in Leo's cloak, and peeked out. Sighing, Donnie sat back. "Well, what happened after that?"

"I left," Mikey said, "And found Karai and the Foot again. That's the other reason I had to put you guys in the old sewer spot...the fighting was just getting worse, and I couldn't afford to let you leave the lair in an angry fit. You guys saw the aftermath, but I challenged her and the Foot to a battle, and all shell broke lose. I thought for sure, at some point, that I might die right then and there. But Karai stopped them and came to get a blood sample, which was my plan. The acid reacted and the Tracker busted."

Completely stunned, the guys stared at Mikey, not really sure how to react. Master Splinter, Mr. Murakami and Leatherhead also sat in silence, surprised.

"A-and then they blew you up!" Raph said, leaning forward. "How did you plan on getting out of there, in that condition?!"

"I didn't, really," Mikey said. "I wasn't thinking about myself - I couldn't. I was just trying to protect you guys, that's all that mattered..." Pausing, Mikey looked up at them like he wanted to say something, but then back down at the floor, hesitating. After a second, more quietly, he said, "At the time, I, I didn't really think you'd care all that much about what I did to myself...I mean, you were all so angry, I just thought...but when I saw you guys again, I...you don't even know, I was so happy..." He rasped, choking up. "You were ok. You were alright, and you weren't fighting anymore. You...I was so happy..." Unable to say anything else, he rubbed his eyes with a fist and sniffed, hiding his face.

"Shell, Mikey," Leo said, going to Mikey and grabbing him up in a big hug, nuzzling his head. "You crazy little turtle...you've absolutely lost your mind if you thought we weren't gonna care," he said. "And of course we stopped fighting. Somebody sneaky left us a note to talk some sense into us,"

Mikey chuckled. Donnie went to them and rubbed Mikey's head, giving him a little kiss over his bandana. "You don't know how happy we were to find out you were gonna be alright,"

"You did a great job, Mikey," Raph said, going to rub his little brother's cheek with a finger. "Only you could'a come up with a hair-brained scheme like that - and none of us would have been able to pull it off. We're real lucky you made it out of it all."

"Hair-brained scheme, alright," Donnie agreed. "Sulfuric acid...I mean, how did you even make it to them before the effects of the acid wiped you out?"

"Just barely," Mikey sleepily said, shutting one eye as Leo squeezed him tight. "I was trying really hard to keep it together by the time I made it to them, though. It definitely didn't help me during the fight."

Shaking his head, Leo snuggled him close in fear. "They could have killed you. The acid could have killed you...you're just totally crazy, you little...you crazy, lucky little..."

Master Splinter sighed, and smiled. "You did well, my son," he said. "It warms me to hear how concerned you were for your brothers, and I am glad you succeeded in your plan - but I'm not sure excluding your family, injecting corrosive poison into yourself and taking on an entire clan alone were the wisest choices."

"I know," Mikey shrugged as Leo released the hug. "But it was the only thing I could think to do...I guess I couldn't totally uproot the Foot, though. After Karai's tracker broke, Shred-head suddenly showed up out of nowhere."

"Yeah, he called us," Raph said. "We had a nice chat."

"He did?" Mikey asked, looking incredibly perplexed.

"Yeah," Leo confirmed. "He used your Tphone to show us when they threw you into the building." Remembering it, the guys looked at each other with concern, and a little bit of an angry spark in their eyes. "That's how we knew where to go,"

"Oh," Mikey said, reading the expressions they were passing each other. He childishly put his finger to his mouth and looked up, trying to lighten the subject for them. "I forgot about my Tphone. He must've taken it...aw, man. He threw it into the building, didn't he?"

The guys nodded.

"Oh no!" Mikey smacked his face. "I was on the second-before-last level on that new game you put on there for me, Donnie. Shredder, _why!_"

After comprehending that particular reaction to the situation that nearly scared them to death, the three of them couldn't help but start laughing.

"Hey, Don can replace that dumb Tphone any day," Raph chuckled. "We're just glad that was the only thing that got blown to smithereens, ya'know?"

"You had us really worried," Donnie said. "And I know we've said that. But listen, Mikey," he said, looking at him square-on. "Me and Raph and Leo...we're really sorry for how we were fighting. We didn't know what we were doing."

"_I_ know what we were doing - being a bunch of puffed-up idiots with ants in our pants, that's what." Raph said, scratching his head.

"We didn't know we were hurting each other - or you. You were just trying to help us, but you're right - we weren't listening to anything you said," Leo shrugged. "We almost even slipped up and lost someone really important."

"There's no excuse for what we did...we're real sorry," Raph added. "We _never_ meant for any of this t'happen, we swear. You know you can tell us anything, no matter what, right?"

"Won't you forgive us?" Donnie asked.

Mikey started to tear up. Putting his face in the cloak, he whined, "You guys, you don't have to apologize. Everything is ok now, that's over. Don't go all soft on me now!"

Smiling, Raph and Donnie gave him a big hug, swaying back and forth. Feeling tacky, Raph started singing Kumbaya, and Donnie bursted out laughing, burying his face in the cloak while he hugged Mikey. Mikey started laughing, too, thinking his brothers were ridiculous.

"Aw," Leo made a big smile, and wrapped his arms around the three of them with a nuzzle. "All my sweet little brothers...none of you are allowed to ever leave the sewers again. It's too dangerous."

"What, we're grounded?" Mikey asked, smiling.

"Yes. You're all going to sit in the living room wrapped up in bubble wrap and do nothing but play video games and watch TV from now on."

"Beats training." Raph teased back.

Master Splinter, Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami happily sat while the brothers laughed and hugged each other. Leatherhead got up, and made his way back to the monitors that were hooked up to Mikey before. "Michelangelo, I'm very glad you're feeling better." He said.

"Oh," Mikey said, releasing himself from the hug and turning to him. "Leatherhead - and Mr. Murakami. I'm sorry about making you run down here like this. Thanks a whole bunch for coming to help me. You guys really saved my life."

Leatherhead chuckled. "Anything to help out my friends."

"No worries," Mr. Murakami nodded, grinning.

Mikey turned back and said, "And Master Splinter - thanks for everything. Having you cooking again reminds me of the old days."

"I have to say, I'd begun to miss my own clam chowder soup, myself," Master Splinter agreed.

Mikey grinned, and looked back at his brothers. "You guys, too," he said. "I would've never, ever made it without you."

Laughing, they pulled him back into a hug, making him laugh, too.

Leatherhead looked on with a smile, and finished jotting something down on his clip board. Walking toward them again, he said, "Do not forget, Michelangelo - the effects of the acid still linger in your body. You can still experience health complications for another few months. I can't officially say you're fully recovered until then - sulfuric acid is known to be rather risky and hazardous, when ingested." Heading to the meditation room, he said, "Just go easy on yourself for a while."

Mikey sleepily nodded, snuggled up in his brothers' hug. "I will," he said, smiling.

"I closed up my shop immediately when I heard about your condition," Mr. Murakami said. "Now that I see you are alright, I would like to go check on my shop for a moment, if I may. I don't know if the Purple Dragons returned while I was away."

"Please do," Master Splinter said. "I will accompany you as well, and help out as you may have need, if it is alright."

"Perfectly," he said, standing. He and Master Splinter made their way to the lair entrance. "I will come back in a few hours - and maybe even bring some pizza gyoza back with me?"

The brothers smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me!" Raph said. "Isn't that right, Mikey?"

Turning to their little brother, they realized Mikey was asleep. He'd fallen asleep all nestled in their arms, a warm, happy look on his face.

Raph cocked his head a little. "Gee, I know the little guy's tired...but how many times has he fallen asleep when we've hugged him now?"

"You're right," Donnie said, and laughed. "Oh, gosh."

"What?" Leo asked.

"Now I remember him doing that every now and then before, too." He smiled. "Mikey always relaxes when we hug him anyway, right? I think -" he laughed again. "It sounds so tacky. I think our heartbeats send him to sleep."

Blinking, Leo and Raph looked down at Mikey again, a little embarrassed. It _was_ really tacky - but at the same time, the cutest thing in the world.

Leo grinned, and laughed. "That's the best thing ever...let's draw on his face."

* * *

A/N: Leo's being overprotective again.

See how bad you scared your big brothers, Mikey? For shame. XD


	8. Excursion!

Over the next week, Mikey was no longer confined to his bed by the health monitors, and was able to move around some more, though he still had to get a check-up from Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami every day. His left elbow had finally healed enough that it didn't need its cast, and was covered in medical wrap - but his right leg and arm were still encased in casts and his ribs were sore and still needed more time to heal, so it hurt when he walked. Mr. Murakami took another trip topside to get some crutches for him, so he'd be able to move around more. His other battle wounds had healed nicely, but the burns were still coming along slowly, leaving him covered in more medical wrap and gauze bandages. They tweaked the syrup they'd made for his throat and applied it to the burns, so they wouldn't leave big, ragged scars on his skin.

Leatherhead was right about the lingering symptoms - he was very easily exhausted and lost his breath quickly, and continued to get chilled; so everyone kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't push himself too hard. He also occasionally had chest pains and his breathing would become labored, so Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami would rush him to the medical equipment to get him stable again. Leatherhead said it was also one of the side effects, and that everyone needed to be extra sure to keep a close watch on him; he also warned Mikey he would have to be careful - so it didn't really help when he'd play on his crutches and start running and spinning around on them all through the lair.

Saturday night, at the end of the week, Mikey was sitting on the couch, all snuggled up in Leo's cloak and a big, fuzzy blanket. He continued wearing Leo's cloak around, since it kept him warm, and he seemed to like it, anyway. He was playing video games with some leftover pizza gyoza on a plate to the side. His throat still hurt now and then, and even with the syrup, it still had a lot of healing to do, so he wouldn't talk as much and usually sat quietly somewhere, entertaining himself. Raph walked up to the TV to see what he was doing - he was playing Rock Band III, but he had two guitars; one in his hands and one on the floor, at his feet.

Curious, Raph watched Mikey select the song - Through the Fire and Flames - and he entered what looked like a special code. As the song started, two separate rows for guitarplay appeared, and buttons came down the row on the right side only. Mikey didn't even put his hands to the guitar in his arms - he started playing the one on the floor with his toes, as he popped a pizza roll into his mouth.

"What the...?!" Raph mumbled, watching in shock. Leo and Donnie came over, too, curious about what Raph was staring at.

As the song progressed, Mikey switched to the guitar in his hands as the buttons changed to the left row. As it went closer to the chorus, a few buttons started appearing on the right row, as well, and Mikey caught those with the guitar at his feet.

Halfway through the song, when it went to the guitar solo, Mikey leaned forward on the couch, and hundreds of buttons came flying down both rows - mostly on the left side, but some on the right where a second guitar came into the song. Mikey used both hands to press buttons and his elbow to flip the lever at the base, and his toes smashed the buttons and flipped the lever of the second guitar as fast as he could.

As the long, 7-minute song finally started coming to a close, Mikey started laughing as he missed more and more buttons, and at the end of the last note, he smashed the buttons, threw up his arms and flopped back on the couch, laughing hysterically.

Leo, Raph and Donnie stood and stared at the TV for a second, shocked.

"What the shell!" Leo shouted, leaning over the couch laughing as hard as Mikey. All the guys laughed hard, falling on the couch.

"Did you just play that song...with your feet?!" Raph laughed.

"It's not fair!" Mikey cried out. "It's too hard! Too hard! It's not _faaaair!_" He put his face in his hands and rolled onto his side, laughing harder.

"How many times have you played this?!" Donnie asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

Mikey shook his head, catching his breath. "I've already beaten this song, like, a million times," he chuckled. "Not many people know this, but once you've beaten it enough, they let you use two guitars, and give you twice as many buttons to hit. But it's _TOO HARD!_" He laughed.

"With two busted arms and a broken leg," Leo chuckled, and rolled onto the couch next to Mikey. "That's not even right. We could win some serious money off of you."

"No," Mikey panted, laughing and holding his sore middle. "No more. Everything is so cramped right now."

"Remind me to pull you off of your games more often," Raph said, shaking his head. "Speakin'a that, why don't we go ahead and get some fresh air?"

"Yeah. We have to get a move on." Leo grinned, looking mischievous.

"What are you talking about?" Mikey asked, pulling Leo's cloak around himself more snugly. "I saw you guys getting ready earlier, like you were planning on going somewhere."

"You could say that," Donnie said, smiling. "You feel like going on a sabotage mission tonight?"

"What?" Mikey asked, confused.

Raph laughed. "We decided a few days ago - we were just waitin' until Master Splinter and everyone went topside for supplies again." He said, sneaking Mikey's last pizza roll and tossing it into his mouth.

"Donnie got an idea," Leo said. "We've located a warehouse where Shredder and the Kraang keep a lot of their technology."

"I developed a lot of explosives, and they're all ready and waiting to be used. If we planted them in the warehouse, we could blow them sky high and put'em out of business for months. They'd lose tons of data." Donnie smiled, a gleam in his eye. "Data for things like mutagen trackers, and whatnot...Sounds fun, huh?"

"I don't know, guys," Mikey said, nervous. "S-Shredder was talking about luring you to his base, so he could take you down all at once...I was hoping you weren't gonna -"

"It won't be so dangerous," Raph said. "Shredder ain't gonna be there. Right, Don?"

"Yeah." Donnie nodded. "It's a facility warehouse. The plan is to plant the bombs, leave, and watch the flames."

"And laugh," Raph added, putting his hands to his stomach and bellowing. "Har har har!"

"We're gonna try to not actually get into any fights with the Foot there - the plan is to make them never know what hit them. Anyway, we gotta take you with us, 'cause we're not about to leave you here all by yourself - so we won't do anything too dangerous." Leo said. "We'll be in and out in five minutes."

"You sure?" Mikey asked. "It still sounds kinda dicey."

"Positive," The three of them growled, suddenly looking dark and evil. Mikey started back at his brothers' sudden bad vibes, as they venomously glared at the entrance to the lair. They were still mad at Shredder and the Foot, Mikey nervously thought. It figured they'd need a vengeance excursion...

"Alright, alright," Mikey said, putting his hands up. "Just try not to go _too_ crazy?"

"Oh, we won't," Raph said, nonchalantly waving the idea away. "Well, maybe just a little."

* * *

The air was brisk and cool. It felt like it'd been forever since Mikey was topside, and pulling Leo's cloak tighter, taking in a big breath of night air, he was happy to finally be out again. They'd left his crutches behind, and Leo was carrying him on his back as they sneakily jumped the rooftops, while Raph and Donnie each carried a bag of explosives, making Raph extremely nervous. He'd uncertainly glance back at the bag slung over his shoulder every now and then, making Mikey giggle.

Donnie looked at his Tphone, which he was using as a GPS. "We're getting closer, guys," he said. "Stay on your toes."

"Always," Raph grinned in anticipation.

Looking ahead, Mikey saw what he thought was the warehouse in the distance. They were in a dingy part of the suburbs again - perfect for keeping Foot activity on the down-low. He recognized it; it wasn't far from the place he'd first seen them, when he overheard Karai's plan. As they got closer, he and the guys started picking up movement from the ground - the Foot were actively using the place, after all.

They kept to the shadows as they went in closer to the warehouse, and watched the Foot for a moment. A delivery truck had just pulled in, and they started unloading computers and stolen electronics.

"Didn't have enough fun with all the other trinkets they nabbed, evidently," Raph scoffed.

"Well, they won't have to worry about their technology for long." Donnie said, grinning. "You ready, guys?"

"Hey, look out," Leo said, indicating the ground with his head. A couple of Foot on patrol were walking directly toward them. They hadn't seen them yet, but they were pretty close. The three of them leapt away.

"What?" One of the Foot said, both of them looking up at the roof of the dark building in front of them. Nothing was there - just the moon shining behind it.

"Hmpf," the guy grunted, and the both of them walked back.

The guys converged back onto another building, out of sight. "A-are you sure you guys wanna do this?" Mikey asked, pulling Leo's cloak around him more snugly as a chill went through his body. "It's gonna make a big commotion."

"It'll be ok," Raph said, grinning positively. "We got our little baby Mikey with us, anyhow. We ain't gonna stick around too long."

"Not for me, you!" Mikey worriedly whispered back. "What if you get hurt?"

"We're not the ones getting hurt this time, trust me." Leo said, glaring down at the warehouse with a slight sneer.

"We better get going," Donnie said, tugging on his bag of explosives. "We gotta plant them and get out before they see us. It's a pretty big place, so we'll have to move it. Once I start the timer, I can't stop it, so we have to get out."

"Right," Leo and Raph nodded.

"What'll we do with Mikey?" Raph asked, pointing at him. "We're not takin'im inside, are we?"

"I don't know," Donnie said, looking a little concerned. "There's too many guards to leave him out here. There's not going to be so many on patrol inside, but..."

"Can't we leave him farther back, then, were them creeps ain't prowling around?"

"I don't want to just leave him on some rooftop somewhere," Leo looked a little worried at the thought, still looking down at the warehouse. "He doesn't even have a Tphone right now. I feel like _anything_ could happen if we did that."

Raph sighed, irritated.

"I'm right here, you know," Mikey said, and chuckled. "I'll be ok. Just take me in the building, too - it'll be fine. That's what _you _guys have been saying, anyway, right?"

After thinking about it for a moment, they sighed, reluctantly agreeing.

"Ok then," Mikey nodded. He unsheathed one of Leo's swords, surprising him, and pointed it forward. "Now charge, my loyal minions!"

"For the last time, having the swords doesn't make you leader," Leo laughed, crouching forward and grabbing his sword back, making Mikey lose his balance a little. "Let's go, guys."

Silently, the three of them leapt from the building and melted into the shadows, stealthily sneaking inside the warehouse around the Foot guards. Once they were safely inside, they hid close to the wall, behind mountains of boxes the Foot had been using for storage and transportation. From there, Raph and Donnie split up, into the warehouse.

Leo put Mikey on the ground and turned to him. "You stay right here, you got me?" He said. "I have to go help Raph and Donnie plant the bombs. We'll only be a few minutes."

"Sure." Mikey nodded. "Just don't forget me or nothing,"

Leo grinned, and leapt away.

Mikey sat back against the boxes, looking at the casts on his arm and leg. Not that he'd really be able to go anywhere, though, he thought with a sigh.

He looked around the boxes at the Foot ninja actively scurrying around in the warehouse. He didn't really care for these Foot guys, obviously, but he wondered what would happen to them when his brothers blew the place sky-high. It couldn't be that bad...catching a glimpse of Donnie before he silently snuck away again, he noticed him attach a couple bombs to a large computer. They were targeting the technology, after all - not the actual Foot themselves.

Right? He nervously gulped.

Noticing something that glinted in the corner of his eye, he turned and looked.

"Huh," he mumbled, tilting his head. After a second, he got on his hands and knees and started crawling towards the wall where it was, away from the spot the guys left him at.

.

.

.

Donnie slapped a bomb onto the back of a storage box. Its three mechanical legs automatically snapped open and latched on.

"That's the last one," he said, wiping his forehead. Checking behind him to see Leo and Raph, he started the timer, and turned to them. "Three minutes."

"Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Raph almost laughed, leaping away. Donnie and Leo followed him.

"You guys get out, I'm gonna grab Mikey," Leo said. Nodding, they hurried away while Leo turned off to the side, back to the boxes near the entrance.

Landing quietly out of sight in the shadows, Leo ran back to where he'd left him. "Come on Mike, let's -" he started, but stopped suddenly, seeing that Mikey wasn't there.

Unable to think for a second, his mind totally fizzling out, he meekly started looking around. "M-Mikey?"

.

.

.

Mikey finally, carefully pried the device off the wall, and satisfactorily looked it over. The square, metal box-like mechanism was almost as big as his whole plastron, and kind of heavy. "Perfect," he whispered, grinning.

The smile dropped from his face when he heard Leo, quietly calling for him and scrambling around in search of him. "Leo, over here," he quietly called back, holding the device against his stomach inside the cloak.

After a second, Leo appeared, and spying Mikey, he leapt over and scooped him up into a hug. His heart was pounding.

"Don't scare me," he said, and chuckled in relief. "I told you not to move."

"Sorry," Mikey grinned apologetically.

"What are you holding-?" He started, but remembering the time limit for the bomb, he almost yelped and swung Mikey onto his back. "Come on, let's get out of here!" Quickly jumping away, he snuck out of the warehouse and went to join the others.

"Geez, Leo! Don't take your time or anything!" Donnie whispered harshly when they came back.

"Not my fault!" Leo whispered back, exaggeratively poking Mikey's forehead.

"Come on, we gotta beat it!" Raph said, urging everyone to get farther away.

Looking up at the buildings, Mikey grinned. "I think I know the perfect spot to watch from," he said. "I'll show the way. Follow us!"

Guiding Leo, Mikey lead them all to the tall, brick building he knew so well, and up to his secret spot where he'd watch the city. It was just close enough for them to get a perfect view of the warehouse.

By the time they all climbed up the fire escape to the little concrete patio at the top, they started hearing shouts and little explosions from the warehouse below. Then - _BOOM!_ There was one giant explosion, and pieces of technology went flying as the Foot ran out of the building to escape the flames.

"Mission successful!" Donnie said, smiling.

Mikey started nudging Raph. "Hey Raph, Raph!"

"Huh, what?"

"The victory laugh," he reminded him, smiling.

"Oh," Raph said, and put a hand to his knee, laughing when he remembered. Then, taking in a big breath, he put his hands to his stomach and bellowed as loud as he could; "_HAR HAR HAR!_"

Everybody cracked up. "Shhh!" Leo hissed, almost choking as he tried desperately to laugh quietly. Donnie couldn't take it and started bawling, and he sounded so funny that Mikey and Leo broke and start laughing as hard as they could, too. Mikey slid off Leo's back and sunk down to put his head against the guardrail, and Leo crossed his arms over it and dropped his head down, hardly able to breathe.

"Leo! A ninja must be quiet! You're such a bad example!" Raph jeered, shoving at him.

"You!" Leo laughed, but that was all he was able to say. "Shut up!" He wheezed, making everybody laugh harder.

Mikey wiped his eyes. "I hope you guys feel better now," he chuckled, "Having blown the Foot to pieces."

"Definitely," Donnie said, and suddenly he and Raph and Leo went evil again, the fire from the warehouse reflecting in their eyes as they maliciously smiled. "Revenge is sweet! Burn, my babies! Burn them all to the ground! MUAHAHAHA!" Donnie cackled.

"Ok, ok," Mikey nervously laughed, waving his hands to tell them to calm down.

Leo chuckled, looking to the side. "I hear sirens already."

"Look at'em," Raph snickered. The Foot were all running around in a nervous panic, wondering what just happened, hearing the sirens, trying to decide if they should save any of the technology, and running away. "Bunch'a geniuses down there."

They sat and kept watching the fire until all the Foot had run away, and the fire department came to put the flames out, coupled with the police. The hot flames cast a play of light across all the nearby buildings, and with the billowing smoke and dancing embers flying into the air, it was sort of mesmerizing. All the guys went quiet, the bitter familiarity of the scene dampening the mood.

Leo pulled Mikey into his lap and wrapped his arms around him. When he looked up, Leo was looking down at the warehouse, absent-mindedly holding him close.

Raph was sitting with his legs dangling down through the guardrail, holding a bar in one hand. After a minute, he said, "Kinda gives me the chills, watching that..."

"Yeah," Donnie and Leo agreed. Mikey looked back at the warehouse, watching the firemen scurrying about while the police looked around for evidence. Donnie's bombs and all the Foot's evidence went to pieces in the explosion...looking at the police cars and fire trucks, images and sensations came back from when he was trapped in the burning debris, and a chill ran down his body. He remembered dazedly hearing the sirens in the background, how they sounded a hundred miles off, that it was raining...he could barely make anything out through all the flames - and the look in the eyes of his poor, scared big brothers after they pulled him out. He must have been a mess - hah, well, they all were.

Mikey chuckled a little, and suddenly said, "I'm the luckiest turtle in the world."

"You sure are," Donnie agreed. "After all you went through, to come out in one piece -"

"Naw, not 'cause of that," Mikey said. "Well, sure. But I'm lucky for something else, too."

"What?" They asked, confused.

"I have the best big brothers in the whole world," he said, and smiled. "Brothers that would dive into a burning building after me, nurse me all the way back to health, and still be mad enough to come and blow the bully out of the water for me later." He laughed. "I'm not just the luckiest turtle - I'm the luckiest guy, ever. I love you guys, to the moon and back a hundred times."

Hearing sniffles, he looked around to see all his brothers hiding their faces, trembling.

"S-stupid...little Mikey...!" Raph said, and dove in to give him a big hug. "Why 'ya gotta keep sayin' that?!" He sobbed. The other two joined in the hug, all of them crying and holding him tight.

"S-sorry!" Mikey said, blinking in surprise as his brothers squished him.

"We love you too," Donnie cried, rubbing his eyes. "We never got to say it, we were so scared - we love you too, Mikey, so, so much,"

"More than there are moons in the sky," Leo laughed, nuzzling him.

"Yeah!" Raph agreed, snuggling him closer. "Some stupid mushy junk like that!"

"Aw, you guys," Mikey sniffed, rubbing an eye. "S-stop crying, will ya...!"

Laughing, they squeezed him tight, happily rocking back and forth. Mikey hugged the device hiding in the cloak a little tighter with a big smile, when he suddenly remembered it.

"Oh," he said, looking at Donnie. He took it out from behind the cloak and shoved it into his arms, surprising him. "Before I forget. I figured I'd grab this while I still could," he said. "I got it for you. I thought it looked ok - I thought you could replace the other one with it."

Donnie looked down at it in wonder and utter shock. It was a circuit breaker, brand-new, and well more efficient than his old one that had busted so long ago. Mikey had been really careful disconnecting it from the warehouse's power lines, which was a relatively dangerous thing to do.

He looked up to say something, but stopped when he saw Mikey looking back uncertainly, nervous and shyly scratching his face with a finger. "I-I know I didn't know exactly what to look for...y-you can use it, can't you? Is it ok?"

Donnie stared at him for a second. Bursting out laughing, he put the circuit breaker down and pulled Mikey back into a hug with a big kiss on the forehead, surprising him. "It's perfect," he said. "It's better than perfect - this device could cost over five hundred dollars. It's wonderful - I could've never gotten my hands on one of these. You did a great job, better than anything I could have told you to do." He snuggled him, laughing.

"Really?" Mikey asked, smiling again.

"Yeah," Donnie let him go. "You didn't have to get that, you know," he said, looking a little worried. "The electrical currents are hazardous to -"

"Aw, don't start all that. I'm just happy it's good," Mikey said, a big, warm, innocent smile on his face. "Now you can get back to work in your lab."

"That's what you went off for?" Leo asked. "I can't believe you remembered that," he laughed.

"Yeah, 'course he remembered!" Raph said, rubbing Mikey's head. "'Cause dumb big brother Leo went and busted the other one up! Ain't that right?" He asked, making Mikey giggle.

"Hey!" Leo protested, pointing at Raph. "I did not! I _told_ you -"

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever helps 'ya sleep at night, dummy!"

"_What!_ Come here, you little-!" Leo shouted, reaching out to Raph. Raph laughed, dodging back and pulling Mikey out of Leo's lap, rolling away.

"Come on Mikey, look out! The tickle monster's gonna get'cha!" He said. Mikey shrieked and dove behind Raph, while Leo leaned over to them with outstretched arms, threatening to tickle them with a mock villain laugh.

"Har har! Beware, I tickle sneaky little turtles with orange masks!" He bellowed. Donnie sat back with a hand over his face, laughing - suddenly remembering how Leo occasionally played with them like this when they were little. Grabbing Mikey, who fell back on his shell to try to get away, Leo dragged him over, took a big breath, and blew a raspberry into his stomach.

"_No!_" Mikey cried, shoving at Leo's face and kicking. "That tickles! _Stop!_" He laughed.

Raph grabbed his stomach and rolled back onto his shell, trying to stop laughing. Donnie leaned on the circuit breaker, trying to catch his breath, and Mikey laid on the concrete, too exhausted to get up.

"You're such a goofball, Leo," Raph laughed.

"No. I'm the tickle monster!" He teased back, chuckling. He scooped Mikey back up into his lap, who limply settled in with a tired smile.

Donnie looked back at the warehouse fire, and yawned. "It's one in the morning," he said, sitting next to Leo and patting Mikey's shell. "We should head back soon."

"Yeah," Raph agreed, sitting on the other side. "We gotta make it back before Master Splinter and the others get back to the lair."

"I guess so," Leo said, looking at the warehouse. "Yeah, they said they wouldn't get back until three, so they'll expect us to be home asleep. We should probably head back. - Guys?"

Looking back, all three of his brothers were fast asleep, leaning against him and snuggled in all comfortably. Donnie had one hand on Mikey's shell and the circuit breaker in his other arm, as if it were an electronic teddy bear. Raph had an arm wrapped around both of them, and Mikey had his peaceful little smile, snuggled in all warm and safe.

Leo looked down at them for a second, unsure of what do to. They had to go...but he didn't want to disturb them, he nervously thought...

He smiled. Wrapping his arms around all three of them, he pulled them close, protectively snuggling them against him and sharing all his warmth. Satisfied they were warm, comfortable and safely nestled into him, he watched the fire. Waiting a little longer couldn't hurt.

"I love you guys," he said quietly, so they wouldn't wake up. "To death and back, a thousand times..."

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_**Notice**_

_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, and is owned by its respective organization. All items, brands, parties or other trademarked paraphernalia mentioned in this fanfic are owned by and are the respective property of their creators/companies, and have no affiliation with, nor are promoting their property through, the author or this fanfic. Rock Band III, likewise, is the property of its respective owner, and does not feature the function mentioned in this fanfic; said function is solely the product of creative work and is purely fictional._

_Please note that the use of sulfuric acid mentioned in this fic is extremely dangerous and lethal. Sulfuric (battery) acid is highly corrosive and can cause extreme damage and/or death when mishandled. Poison control hotlines are available in the U.S. at 1-800-222-1222._

_All rights reserved._

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A/N: THE END! Let me know if you liked! Praise and constructive criticism are both always appreciated. I've been thinking of doing an Afterwards sequel to this since I finished it, which I may get around to once I'm finished with my next Turtles fic. Stay tuned :)


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